Engineer charged with obstructing investigation into yanky 72 plane crash

OXFORD, MS – A former Robins Air Force Base employee has been arrested for making false statements and obstructing justice during a federal criminal investigation into a 2017 military plane crash that resulted in the deaths of 16 service members.

On July 10, 2017, a United States Marine Corps KC-130 transport aircraft, known as “Yanky 72,” crashed near Itta Bena, Mississippi, killing fifteen Marines and one Navy Corpsman. On Tuesday morning, James Michael Fisher, 67, formerly of Warner Robins, Georgia, and currently residing in Portugal, was arrested based on an indictment issued by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Mississippi. The indictment charges him with obstruction of justice and making false statements during the investigation into the crash.

According to the indictment, Fisher, a former propulsion engineer with the C-130 program office at Robins Air Force Base, engaged in conduct aimed at avoiding scrutiny for his past engineering decisions that might be related to the crash. The indictment alleges that Fisher knowingly concealed key engineering documents from criminal investigators and made materially false statements about his past engineering decisions.

Fisher faces two charges of making false statements and two charges of obstruction of justice. If convicted, he could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner of the Northern District of Mississippi, along with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

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