As Congress investigates the Osprey, families balance grief with pilots’ love for the warplane WSB-TV Channel 2 [Video]

WASHINGTON — (AP) — The V-22 Osprey that crashed off the coast of Japan last November has brought the aircraft’s safety record back under scrutiny — but this time without one of its most vocal defenders.

Air Force Maj. Jeff Hoernemann had piloted the Osprey for more than a decade. Each time a new accident or incident occurred, you’d find him online, defending the warplane through his Reddit account, “UR_WRONG_ABOUT_V22.”

In November he and seven others were killed when their Air Force Special Operations Command CV-22B Osprey crashed off the coast of Japan.

The Japan crash has reverberated deeply within the Osprey community and left the grieving families with the need to maintain a delicate balance. They know the crews were passionate about the Osprey, because it is fast and performs like no other aircraft in the fleet. But the crashes keep happening, and none of them can stomach the idea of another family facing this kind of grief.

“Would Jeff …