EXCLUSIVE
U.S. news
‘Your heart is always broken’: Families whose loved ones died want to know why the military’s Ospreys keep crashing
“It’s hard to find someone in the Osprey community who doesn’t know someone who has died,” said a mechanic. He said he promised his child he would not go back up in an Osprey.

Feb. 23, 2024, 6:00 AM EST
By Laura Strickler and Courtney Kube

When Evan Strickland was 13, he stood in line with his father for 30 minutes in the New Mexico summer sun for the chance to sit in the cockpit of a V-22 Osprey, a unique twin-rotor aircraft used by the U.S. military. ... Looking at the photo now, Evan’s father, Wayland Strickland, choked up. “You think about it a little bit more in hindsight,” he said.

By 2022, Evan was 19 and a Marine Corps lance corporal stationed in California. He loved to play saxophone, dance for his fellow Marines to make them laugh, and had planned to elope with his girlfriend. On June 8, he headed out for his first flight as a crew chief on an Osprey.

His mother, Michelle Strickland, got a message on Facebook that day from a friend who asked, “Have you heard from Evan?” ... “And I’m like, ‘No,’” Michelle recalled. “She tells me, ‘Call him.’”

Evan didn’t answer the phone. Wayland Strickland said he told his wife not to invite trouble by worrying. He was heading to bed when he heard a “blood-curdling scream.” Michelle had opened the front door to see two Marines.


In June, 2022, 19-year-old Evan Strickland was a new Marine who loved to play saxophone,
Evan Strickland, at 15 years old.Courtesy of Michelle Strickland

“From that second on, your heart is always broken,” Wayland said.

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