On December 8, 2008 a Marine Corps jet crashed near my house, killing four civilians. The USMC did a thorough investigation and held a press conference about the results, complete with powerpoints. However, I was not able to find the actual report anywhere. I eventually filed a FOIA request, and got a redacted version of the report and all its attachments.

The crash fit a common pattern: a lot of small mistakes, by a variety of people, added up to a disaster. It was not just the pilot at fault, although he was certainly involved.

Because these reports were hard to get, and will be of interest to others, I’m putting them up on this site. If I can find a better (more relevant) repository, I’ll also post it there.

There is a lot of bureaucratic material in the reports. I will gradually post all of it. Questions are welcome – use the Comments section.

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