A 67-year-old former Air Force Base employee was recently arrested and charged with making false statements during an investigation into a 2017 military plane crash that killed 16 service members.
In July 2017, a United States Marine Corps KC-130 aircraft crashed in Mississippi, killing 15 Marines and one Navy sailor. James Michael Fisher, a Georgia native who now lives in Portugal and worked as a propulsion engineer with the C-130 program office at Robins Air Force Base, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Mississippi.
After the crash, Fisher engaged in a pattern of conduct to avoid scrutiny for his engineering decisions as to why the crash occurred, concealing key engineering documents from investigators and making false statements, authorities said.
Fisher was arrested in Florida last week and was released on $10,000 bond, according to Military.com.
Fisher is charged with making false statements and obstruction of justice and he faces up to 20 years in prison, authorities said.
The Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Defensive Criminal Investigative Service, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the case.
The plane crash in Mississippi was the deadliest for the Marine Corps since 2005 when a helicopter crashed in Iraq, killing 31 people.
Sam Barron ✉
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