Ex-Air Force engineer's arrest 'opens old wounds' for families of victims killed in a C-130 crash caused by a worn propeller blade

• An ex-Air Force engineer faces charges related to a deadly C-130 crash caused by a worn propeller.
• Investigators found James Fisher nixed a key propeller inspection because it was "time-consuming."
• Families of the victims said Fisher's arrest seven years after the crash "opens old wounds."

Michael and Teresa Lohrey know that July 10 will always hurt.

On that day in 2017, the two parents lost their 30-year-old son, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Lohrey, when the KC-130T — call sign Yanky 72 — he was aboard crashed in rural Mississippi due to what was later identified as a defective propeller blade that came loose. He and 15 Marines aboard the aircraft were killed.

But seven years to the day after those service members' deaths, Military.com reported that a former Air Force employee was arrested this month, and the federal government alleges that he was responsible for removing a key inspection procedure that could have detected the issue with the propeller. The revelation, seven years after Ryan's death, was a lot to take in.

"It kind of blindsided us," Teresa said of the news, adding, "We're not doing good." Her husband, Michael, said no advanced notice was given on the latest development in the case.

"It's obviously been seven years," Michael said in an interview with Military.com. "You don't ever get over it; it's like losing a child in a murder. Until the case ends, you don't ever get over it."

James Michael Fisher, 67, the former lead engineer tasked with C-130 propeller maintenance at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, was arrested July 2 as part of the investigation into the crash in Mississippi. He was charged with two counts related to false statements and two counts of obstruction of justice as officials continue to probe the cause of the crash.

Federal prosecutors said in an indictment that Fisher "was also one of the key decision-makers who removed the critical inspection procedure in August 2011" — a procedure that might have been able to detect deficiencies in the propeller before it was placed back into service.

The latest development in the criminal investigation caught many of the families off guard, Kelsey McCarty, the co-director of the Yanky 72 Memorial Committee, told Military.com in an interview. Many families and supporters are gathering this weekend around the seventh anniversary to commemorate the lives of the service members who died in the crash, just days after many of the details of the former employee's arrest have gone public.

"It adds a different dimension to it, and it kind of opens old wounds, I'd say," McCarty said. "All the families were surprised by this."

A criminal investigation into the July 10, 2017, crash was opened in 2020, according to the indictment that was made public this week. Aviation and safety experts told Military.com that it's seemingly rare for criminal charges to be filed in connection to airplane crashes, and following the paper trail to identify a person or people responsible is an arduous investigative process.

"It is extremely time-consuming and resource intensive," Greg Feith, a former senior air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, told Military.com. "And, of course, it takes a long time."

Despite completing a crash investigation and a military investigation following the crash, federal agents still thought there was more to the case and began digging into the maintenance culture at Robins Air Force Base.

One key finding federal authorities discovered was correspondence in which a maintenance technician supervisor wanted to remove an inspection because it was "very time-consuming," the indictment states. Agents found an "August 19, 2011, email in which Fisher stated that he had 'no problem' removing the penetrant inspections" — a key way to identify deficiencies in a propeller blade.

Investigators claimed in the indictment that Fisher "attempted to obstruct the criminal investigation by intentionally withholding documents showing that he played a crucial role in removing the critical inspection procedure and providing false statements to federal agents in order to cover up his role in removing the critical inspection procedure."

Retired Col. J.F. Joseph, a Marine Corps pilot who flew the KC-130 himself and is now an aviation consultant, said the information in the indictment is concerning.

"In our business in aviation, if you make a decision based on saving time, money, or convenience, you've probably made the wrong choice," Joseph told Military.com. "But obviously, from a safety culture standpoint, it's incredible that somebody would take a shortcut like this for such a dynamic component as a propeller on a C-130."

The propeller blade, which was not thoroughly inspected, eventually was placed on Yanky 72, which led to the "catastrophic sequence of events resulting in the midair breakup of the aircraft and its uncontrollable descent and ultimate destruction," a Marine Corps crash investigation detailed.

Fisher did not return a phone call or text message seeking comment at a phone number listed for him in public records. Multiple calls to him this week were also not answered.

Service members killed in the crash along with Lohrey were: Maj. Caine M. Goyette; Capt. Sean E. Elliott; Gunnery Sgt. Mark A. Hopkins; Gunnery Sgt. Brendan C. Johnson; Staff Sgt. Joshua M. Snowden; Sgt. Julian M. Kevianne; Sgt. Owen J. Lennon; Cpl. Daniel I. Baldassare; Cpl. Collin J. Schaaff; Staff Sgt. Robert H. Cox; Staff Sgt. William J. Kundrat; Sgt. Chad E. Jenson; Sgt. Talon R. Leach; Sgt. Joseph J. Murray; and Sgt. Dietrich A. Schmieman.

Like many of the men aboard Yanky 72, Ryan Lohrey left behind a large and loving family — including two children and his wife, whom he married just a month before the crash, his obituary stated.

"He was dedicated to what he did," Michael Lohrey said. "He loved what he did; every single day, he loved it." When asked whether Fisher's arrest feels like justice at all, Michael Lohrey said, "Absolutely not."