WASHINGTON, 2:11 p.m. PST March 9, 2001 -- The wives of three Marines killed in a crash last April of a V-22 Osprey pleaded Friday for the Pentagon to fix "the hidden dangers" that have taken the lives of 23 Marines in less than a year.

In an emotional presentation to a four-member panel of experts reviewing the future of the Osprey program, Stacey Nelson said she has learned of "many legitimate and serious safety concerns" about the innovative but technically troubled aircraft since the crash that killed her husband and 18 other Marines near Tucson, Ariz.

The panel was created after a second Osprey crash last December killed four more Marines. None of the eight remaining Osprey aircraft have flown since the December crash in North Carolina, and speculation is mounting that the Pentagon will delay or cancel the program.

Nelson's husband, Staff Sgt. William Brian Nelson, 30, was an aerial observer/mechanic aboard an Osprey that suddenly fell into a nose dive, flipped onto its back and crashed April 8 near a small airport.

She and the two other wives said that they are not urging the Pentagon to cancel the Osprey program, but rather to return it to the manufacturers to work out technical problems that they said make it unsafe.

"Our first and greatest priority is simply to ensure that no other Marine is asked to give his life until this aircraft is safe," Nelson said.

Reading from a letter that she received from her husband on the day of the crash, she choked back tears.

"Hey baby, I'm getting ready to go to work," the letter began. He said he had received a photo that she had sent of "baby Nelson." (A second daughter was born after he died.)

"It's really hard to believe that Brian Nelson has a beautiful wife, soon-to-be two beautiful children and a house with a dog," he wrote. "It's all because of you. You've given me this wonderful life and I thank you for it. I love you very much."

Also addressing the Osprey review panel were several supporters of the program, including former Pentagon official Frank Gaffney, who said the Osprey was a "national asset" that held incalculable potential benefits for military and civil aviation that the United States "cannot afford to forego."

On the other side, Connie Gruber, whose husband, Maj. Brooks S. Gruber, 34, was co-pilot of the Osprey that crashed last April, called the crash "an accident that could have been prevented if only Bell and Boeing had presented the Marine Corps with a safe aircraft." The Osprey is built by Textron's Bell Helicopters unit and Boeing Co.

"I ask that you hold the parties, the ones that knew of should have known about the hidden dangers of this aircraft -- the makers of the aircraft -- responsible for the devastation of the lives of those of us who will forever be impacted by their poor judgments, overzealousness or carelessness," she said.

At the Boeing office in Philadelphia that works on the Osprey program, spokeswoman Madelyn Bush declined to comment, noting that lawyers for the family of Lance Cpl. Jasson Duke, who also was killed in the April crash, announced Friday that they have filed a lawsuit against Bell and Boeing.

Trish Brow, wife of Maj. John Brow, the pilot and aircraft commander on the Osprey that crashed in Arizona, told the panel, "All along, I felt the program was pushed too hard and too fast.

"Stop the V-22 from killing the pilots that fly it.

"If the Osprey is the right aircraft for the job, I ask that you please ensure it is adequately funded and tested to ensure this aircraft doesn't kill other husbands and fathers," she said.

The review panel is headed by a former deputy commandant of the Marine Corps, retired Gen. John R. Dailey, and Friday's session was its first public hearing. The panel is expected to complete its work in April.

The Osprey is unique in its ability to take off like a helicopter, rotate its propellers 90 degrees and fly like an airplane. The Marine Corps plans to buy 360 Ospreys to replace its fleet of aging CH-46 and CH-53 transport helicopters.

Gen. James Jones, commandant of the Marine Corps, has called the Osprey a "must have" aircraft, although he said following the December crash that a review of the program was warranted.

Previous Stories:

• March 2, 2001: Defense Department Seizes Computer Data In Osprey Probe
• February 19, 2001: Marine Corps May Have Halted Osprey Test Early