Mississippi jury acquits engineer accused of lying about 2017 military plane crash

James Michael Fisher was found not guilty after an eight-day trial in federal court.

Mar. 10, 2026 at 6:18pm

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A jury has acquitted a former engineer overseeing military aircraft maintenance of charges of making false statements and obstructing justice during the criminal investigation of a 2017 military plane crash in Mississippi that killed all 16 service members aboard. James Michael Fisher was the lead propulsion engineer at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Georgia in 2011 when the crash occurred.

Why it matters

The 2017 military plane crash in Mississippi was the deadliest Marine Corps air disaster since 2005, raising concerns about aircraft maintenance and safety. The acquittal of the engineer accused of lying during the investigation raises questions about the handling of the case and the broader issues of accountability for such tragic incidents.

The details

Investigators said civilian maintenance personnel failed to find defects in a cracked and corroded propeller blade that was installed on the KC-130T transport plane, which broke apart in flight, causing the plane to crash. The indictment had accused Fisher of lying to federal agents about changes to inspection procedures during a 2021 investigation, suggesting he was part of a cover-up that shifted blame to maintenance technicians. However, Fisher's defense lawyer argued that someone else had cleared technicians to change how propellers were inspected while Fisher was in Brazil, and that the document allowing the change played no role in the crash.

  • The 2017 military plane crash occurred on July 10, 2017.
  • Fisher was indicted by a federal grand jury in Mississippi in 2024, after he had retired.
  • The eight-day trial in federal court in Greenville, Mississippi, resulted in Fisher's acquittal on March 10, 2026.

The players

James Michael Fisher

A former engineer who was the lead propulsion engineer at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Georgia in 2011, when the 2017 military plane crash occurred. He was accused of making false statements and obstructing justice during the investigation, but was acquitted by a jury.

Steve Farese

Fisher's defense lawyer, who argued that someone else had cleared technicians to change how propellers were inspected while Fisher was in Brazil, and that the document allowing the change played no role in the crash.

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What they’re saying

“Nobody did it intentionally. As one witness said, there were 10 different ways for that blade to have through inspection and be missed or put back in the system accidentally. There were 10 different ways it could have happened. So there was no clarity in the trial as to exactly what did happen.”

— Steve Farese, Fisher's defense lawyer

The takeaway

The acquittal of the engineer accused of lying during the investigation raises questions about the handling of the case and the broader issues of accountability for such tragic incidents, highlighting the complexity of determining responsibility in complex technical failures.