Remains of seventh airman recovered from Osprey crash off coast of Japan
Seven of the eight airmen who were in the Air Force CV-22 Osprey that crashed off the coast of Yakushima Island, Japan, on November 29 have been recovered, the US Air Force said Monday.
The remains of Maj. Jeffrey “Jeff” T. Hoernemann, 32, were recovered on Sunday, said a release from Air Force Special Operations Command. Hoernemann, from Andover, Minnesota, commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at North Dakota State University on March 1, 2015, according to the release.
He served as a CV-22 instructor pilot and chief of weapons and tactics for the 21st Special Operations Squadron, 353rd Special Operations Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan. Hoernemann’s remains were recovered by US Navy divers on Sunday.
The other six airmen who have been recovered have been identified as Maj. Luke A. Unrath, 34; Capt. Terrell “Terry” K. Brayman, 32; Staff Sgt. Jake M. Turnage, 25; Staff Sgt. Jacob “Jake” M. Galliher, 24; Tech Sgt. Zachary E. Lavoy, 33; and Senior Airman Brian “Kody” Johnson, 32.
There is a “combined Japan-US effort” to locate and recover the remains of the eighth and final airman who was on board, Maj. Eric “Doc” V. Spendlove, 36, the AFSOC release said on Monday.
Last week the US military grounded its entire fleet of Ospreys following the crash.
Air Force Special Operations Command said in a release last Wednesday evening that Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, commander of AFSOC, directed an “operational standdown” of the Air Force’s CV-22 fleet “to mitigate risk while the investigation continues” into the crash. Naval Air Systems Command also said it was grounding the Navy and Marine Corps’ V-22s out of “an abundance of caution” as the CV-22 crash is investigated.
“Preliminary investigation information indicates a potential materiel failure caused the mishap, but the underlying cause of the failure is unknown at this time,” a Navy news release said.
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