Accident Summary
On 22 August 2023, at 2129:37 Mountain Standard Time, a CV-22B Osprey (tail number 17-0077) assigned to the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, impacted the ground with the landing gear retracted following a loss of power from the right engine. The accident occurred west of the Jockey impact area on Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico. The aircraft was conducting a local training sortie that included support for a joint terminal attack controller team, a periodic flight evaluation, and aerial gunnery recurrency training. One member of the crew, the mishap flight engineer 1 (MFE1), sustained a head injury and was transported to a local civilian hospital for treatment; he was released the following morning. There were no fatalities and no damage to civilian property. The estimated cost of damage to the aircraft was $2,068,884.
Sequence of Events
The crew departed Cannon AFB at 2008 MST. After completing infiltration of the JTAC team and other training tasks, they proceeded to the Jockey area for aerial gunnery training. Following the gunnery training, the crew raised the landing gear and began a slow transition from a hover to forward flight. As MFE1 moved to sit down in the flight engineer seat, his night vision goggle battery pack cable, which had significant slack, looped over the knob of the right engine control lever and moved it from the FLY position to the OFF position. This commanded the right engine to shut down. Without sufficient power to maintain flight, the aircraft descended at a rate exceeding 1,200 feet per minute and impacted the ground. The aircraft slid on its belly for over 360 feet before coming to a stop.
Cause
The Accident Investigation Board determined that the cause of the mishap was MFE1 unintentionally and unknowingly shutting down the right engine when his NVG battery cable looped over the knob of the right engine control lever and moved it from FLY to OFF while he attempted to sit down in the flight engineer seat.
Contributing Factors
The board identified four factors that substantially contributed to the mishap: (1) The mishap aircraft commander failed to guard the engine control levers; (2) Inattention of the aircrew during a critical phase of flight; (3) Failure of real-time risk assessment; and (4) Lack of procedural guidance.
Medical and Qualifications
All crew members were medically qualified and had appropriate training. MFE1 was treated for a head injury and released. No other injuries were reported.