08-02-2025
Mother of Pittsfield airman killed in Osprey crash says plan to fly aircraft over Super Bowl is ‘incredibly traumatizing'
'This is incredibly traumatizing for all of us,' Krautter, of Lanesborough, said Friday in a phone interview
.
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The crash prompted the US military to
In November, an Air Force Osprey crew flying at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico
narrowly avoided a crash when they were able to quickly land after losing an engine. An initial review determined that
the part that broke during the flight had metal weaknesses similar to those found in a part of the Osprey that went down in Japan,
A tear rolled down the cheek of Gold Star mother Kim Krautter, who lost her son U.S. Air Force member Jacob Galliher, in the crash of a military Osprey aircraft off of the coast of Japan, during the annual Gold Star Family Tree dedication on Dec. 11, 2023.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
The near-crash led the Pentagon to again pause Osprey flights as the metal failures were investigated. The pause was
Since the military started flying the aircraft three decades ago, 64 personnel have been killed and 93 injured in crashes, according to the AP. Among those were Marine Captain Ross Reynolds of Leominster and Marine Captain Nicholas Losapio of Kensington, N.H., who died in separate Osprey crashes in 2022.
The aircraft is designed to travel at high speeds like an airplane and rotate its engines to take off and land like a helicopter.
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Galliher's stepfather, Tor Krautter, said he fears the risk of flying the aircraft over a populated area, particularly during a major event such as the Super Bowl.
'It's completely unnecessary and it's a slap in the face to those men and women, asking them to get on that aircraft that has such a history of accidents and mechanical failures,' he said.
The US Marine Corps is performing the flyover and other events at the Super Bowl as
MV-22 Osprey pilots and flight crews conducted a flight rehearsal in preparation for the flyover during Super Bowl LIX.
— U.S. Marines (@USMC)
A spokesperson for the Marine Corps said the flyover will feature four MV-22B Ospreys, the corps' 'premier medium-lift aircraft,' and two F-34B Lighting II jets.
But members of the state's Congressional delegation are also speaking out against the flyover. On Friday, Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey each signed a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell urging him to cancel the event.
'We should be celebrating the Marine Corps for 250 years of powerfully important service, not adding to the grief of families like the Gallihers and Reynolds families in Massachusetts who have lost their loved ones in these aircrafts,' Warren said in a
statement.
Markey said canceling the flyover 'should be an easy touchdown for the NFL.'
'It would be respectful to the families and show that they take the safety concerns about the aircraft seriously,' he said in a statement. 'The families of these brave servicemembers have been through enough, and they should not have to be reminded of their loss during Sunday's game.'
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Kim and Tor Krautter said they were dismayed that the Marines would choose to feature the Osprey as part of its celebration, which neither of them plan to watch.
'This piece of machinery should not be in a celebration when so many in the military have lost their lives from it,' Kim Krautter said.
In November, Galliher's widow, Ivy,
filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aircraft's manufacturers, Bell Textron and Boeing, as well as Universal Stainless, which manufactured the metal alloy used in the gearbox.
Tor Krautter said he believes the Super Bowl flyover is an attempt to improve the aircraft's reputation.'We feel like this is a publicity thing,' he said. 'The Marines are trying to project it in a better light and change public opinion.'
In a statement, the Marine Corps spokesperson said the Osprey's 'unmatched versatility is driven by the close teamwork between pilots and enlisted aircrew, reflecting the strength and unity of the broader Marine Corps.'
'The Super Bowl presents the perfect opportunity to showcase the skill, professionalism, and effectiveness of our Marine aviators, aircrew, and aircraft, demonstrating who the Marine Corps truly is,' the statement said.
Fourteen months since Galliher and his crewmates were killed, the Krautters and other members of his family continue to keep his memory alive.
Last year, Kim Krautter opened a coffee shop in Lanesborough called 'Jake's Java.' On Friday, which would have been Galliher's 26th birthday, the shop's
In the year since losing her son, Kim Krautter has immersed herself in the community of Gold Star families. She and Tor said they were devastated by the midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines flight over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, which killed 67 people, including three military service members on the helicopter.
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'It feels familiar,' she said. 'I just want to give them a great big hug and support all of them.'
As recovery crews were still pulling victims from the river, President Trump baselessly
The president's comments, coming less than a day after the crash, shook the Krautters, who said they know as well as anyone that it takes time for such tragic incidents to be investigated.
'Sometimes families wait years to get these reports that give them the answers of what actually happened to their loved one,' Tor Krautter said. 'And there's a reason for that. They told us over and over again that they want to get it right, that the worst thing that they could do is put something in a report or make a statement that was not correct. And so for President Trump to do that was incredibly irresponsible and heartless.'
Tor Krautter said he hopes Trump will take a closer look at the Osprey's history and consider an order to ground them.
'Look at what it's done to the families of the brave men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice flying on this aircraft,' he said. 'If anybody could fix it with the swipe of a pen, it would be President Trump.'
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Nick Stoico can be reached at
