John Jefferson
A probe launched by the United States military found one Marine thought to have died in a tragic aerial crash actually escaped — then perished heading back into the flames to try to save trapped pilots.
Cpl. Spencer Collart, 21, was on board an MV-22B Osprey that went down in Australia during a military exercise in August 2023.
An official Marine Corps investigation has found that Collart did not die from the initial crash, but instead perished when he “heroically reentered the burning cockpit of the aircraft in an attempt to rescue the trapped pilots.”
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A total of 23 service members were on board the Osprey when the aircraft went down.
The majority managed to escape out the back of the plane, but Capt. Eleanor LeBeau, aircraft commander Maj. Tobin Lewis and Collart were killed in the tragic air disaster.
Understanding the nature of Collart’s death became difficult after one commander who survived the crash described seeing him escape the wreckage through a side door.
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On-site teams later recovered the young Marine’s in-flight tether at the site of the disaster largely undamaged.
Military investigators believe Collart escaped the wreckage but then ran back towards the flames to try rescuing Lewis from the cockpit — he died with the two pilots after succumbing to the heat and smoke.
Collart is being honored posthumously with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the Navy’s highest noncombat decoration.
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