Michael and Teresa Lohrey know that July 10 will always hurt.
On that day in 2017, the two parents lost their 30-year-old son, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Lohrey, when the KC-130T — call sign Yanky 72 — he was aboard crashed in rural Mississippi due to what was later identified as a defective propeller blade that came loose. He and 15 Marines aboard the aircraft were killed.
But seven years to the day after those service members’ deaths, Military.com reported that a former Air Force employee was arrested this month and the federal government alleges that he was responsible for removing a key inspection procedure that could have detected the issue with the propeller. The revelation, seven years after Ryan’s death, was a lot to take in.
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“It kind of blindsided us,” Teresa said of the news, adding, “We’re not doing good.” Her husband Michael said no advanced notice was given on the latest development in the case.
“It’s obviously been seven years,” Michael said in an interview with Military.com. “You don’t ever get over it; it’s like losing a child in a murder. Until the case ends, you don’t ever get over it.”
James Michael Fisher, 67, the former lead engineer tasked with C-130 propeller maintenance at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, was arrested July 2 as part of the investigation into the crash in Mississippi. He was charged with two counts…
