Former engineer charged with obstructing investigation into military crash that killed 16
A former U.S. Air Force engineer has been charged with making false statements and obstructing justice in a federal criminal investigation into a 2017 military plane crash that killed 16 people, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
The engineer, James Michael Fisher, 67, formerly of Warner Robins, Ga., was living in Portugal when he was arrested Tuesday morning on an indictment filed by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Mississippi, the department said in a press releaseHe is charged with two counts each of making false statements and obstruction of justice. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
According to the department, Mr. Fisher, a former chief propulsion engineer at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, “engaged in a pattern of conduct designed to avoid investigation into his prior technical decisions regarding the cause of the crash.” He also “knowingly concealed key technical documents” from investigators and “made materially false statements” to them about his decisions, the department said.
The Justice Department has not determined a cause for the crash, which occurred July 10, 2017, in the Mississippi Delta when a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 plane known as Yanky 72 crashed near Itta Bena, Mississippi, killing 15 Marine Corps members and one Navy corpsman. Witnesses at the time said the plane broke up in midair as it neared the ground, prompting an urgent rescue effort in one of the South’s most rural areas. Authorities estimated the debris field was about three miles in diameter.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for more information Wednesday night, and court documents could not immediately be obtained. It was unclear whether Mr. Fisher had legal counsel. The Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex also did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. evening.
Alain Delaquérière contributed to research.
