Former engineer charged with obstructing investigation into military crash that killed 16 people

A former U.S. Air Force engineer has been charged with making false statements and obstruction of justice in the federal criminal investigation into a 2017 military plane crash that killed 16 people, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Engineer James Michael Fisher, 67, formerly of Warner Robins, Georgia, was living in Portugal when he was arrested Tuesday morning on an indictment by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Mississippi, the agency said in a news release. He faces two counts of making false statements and obstruction of justice. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

According to the agency, Mr. Fisher, a former senior propulsion engineer at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, “conducted himself in a manner designed to avoid scrutiny of his prior engineering decisions related to the probable cause of the crash.” He also “knowingly withheld important engineering documents” from investigators and made “materially false statements” to them about his decisions, the agency said.

The Justice Department did not give an exact cause for the crash. It occurred on July 10, 2017, in the Mississippi Delta, when a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 aircraft, known as Yanky 72, crashed near Itta Bena, Mississippi, killing 15 Marine Corps members and a Navy medic. Witnesses at the time said the plane broke apart in mid-air as it approached the ground, prompting an urgent rescue effort in one of the South’s most rural areas. Authorities estimated the debris field was about 3.6 miles (5.8 kilometers) across.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for more information Wednesday evening, and court documents could not be immediately obtained. It was unclear whether Mr. Fisher was represented by counsel. The Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex also did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Evening.

Alain Delaquérière made a research contribution.