Belleville Marine’s family reacts to report on Osprey crash that killed her

A military investigation of an Osprey crash that killed three U.S. Marines, including a former Belleville resident, on an Australian island last August has determined that it was caused by multiple pilot errors during a near mid-air collision.

The redacted investigative report also blamed squadron leaders for permitting a “culture that disregarded safety of flight,” citing problems with maintenance, safety checks and record-keeping.

The report recommended disciplinary action (court martial, administrative or judicial) for some personnel.

“The investigation revealed the cause of the mishap to be pilot error due to a loss of situational awareness, not a result of a material or mechanical failure of any component on the aircraft,” according to a Marine Corps press release on Aug. 9.

“During the flight’s final approach to the precoordinated landing zone, the aircraft executed three extreme right banks, causing an aerodynamic stall condition. Follow-on flight maneuvers were unable to recover the aircraft, resulting in the crash.”

The two pilots were killed. They were Capt. Eleanor V. “Ellie” Cooke, 29, formerly of Belleville, who went by her maiden name, LeBeau, in the military; and Maj. Tobin J. Lewis, 37, formerly of Jefferson, Colorado.

The crew chief, Cpl. Spencer R. Collart, 21, of Arlington, Virginia, also died.

“(Collart) heroically re-entered the burning cockpit of the aircraft in an attempt to rescue the trapped pilots,” the report stated.

There were a total of 23 people aboard the MV-22B Osprey for a routine training exercise by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363. It crashed about 9:30 a.m. Aug. 27, 2023, on Melville Island, north of Darwin, in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Investigators found that Lewis, as aircraft commander and in-flight instructor, had not participated in mission-planning briefs, completed required paperwork or reviewed information on aircraft load, maintenance history or risk assessments before taking off.

Family gets private briefing

Four Marines visited the Belleville home of Cooke’s parents, Dr. David LeBeau and his wife, Victoria LeBeau, on Aug. 2 to personally explain findings of the investigation. The couple were joined by some of their other seven children and 22 grandchildren.

“It was failed leadership that caused the accident,” Victoria LeBeau said Monday in a phone interview.

“Ellie was not responsible in any way, shape or form. She was not the aircraft commander. She was not the one in charge of the aircraft. She was flying the plane, but she was being told what to do.”

In the report, investigators questioned Lewis’s decision to talk Cooke through an approach instead of taking over the controls himself, despite apparent problems.

LeBeau said her family isn’t down on the Marines because of what happened. Chase Cooke, her daughter’s husband and a pilot in the same Hawaii-based squadron, plans to return to Australia next year to fly in another training exercise.

“We’re a military family, and we’re blessed because of it,” LeBeau said.

LeBeau expressed relief that Ellie Cooke didn’t suffer in the fiery crash, noting that officials believe she died instantly of “blunt trauma.”

Chase Cooke recently awarded a scholarship in his late wife’s name to its first recipient at Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville, where Ellie Cooke graduated in 2012.

Victoria and David LeBeau and other family members plan to participate in Marine Corps Marathon races in Ellie Cooke’s honor on Oct. 27 in Virginia. David LeBeau and two daughters will travel to Melville Island for a remembrance ceremony on Sept. 27.

Victoria LeBeau said she’s grateful that people care enough to plan such an event, but she’s not going.

“I don’t want to see where the accident happened,” she said.

Osprey under scrutiny

A team of investigators traveled to Australia on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, 2023, to begin their work, according to the report. They spent months examining the crash site, interviewing witnesses and collecting autopsy reports, medical records, training materials, flight logbooks and other materials.

Marine Corps leaders received the report on May 4. Families of those killed or injured were notified before it went public.

A V-22 Osprey can take off and land like a helicopter but function like a turboprop airplane in flight. The crash in Australia was one of four fatal accidents in two years that have drawn renewed congressional scrutiny, the Marine Corps Times reported.

“The Osprey has been a vital asset in special operations and combat missions, but it is considered one of the most complex aircraft to fly and maintain and it has a troubled accident history,” an Aug. 9 story stated.

Investigators determined that both Ospreys in the training exercise in Australia were carrying 2,000 more pounds of fuel than planned. Maintenance on the one that crashed was incomplete, although that wasn’t identified as a cause of the crash.

Ellie LeBeau attended Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, Althoff and Murray State University in Kentucky before being commissioned in the Marine Corps in 2018.

Her family held a private funeral in September at Cathedral of St. Peter Catholic Church in Belleville. Local residents and American flags lined the 7-mile procession route to Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery, where she was buried with full military honors.

Since that time, David and Victoria LeBeau have adopted Ellie Cooke’s German shepherd, Jojo.

“It will be a year (since her death) on Aug. 27, and it feels like it was yesterday,” Victoria LeBeau said Monday, fighting back tears. “But we’re not the only family that has lost a loved one. It’s hard.”

Sign Up for Local Breaking News