Friday, January 30, 2015

Another Marine has died because an LAV-25 seat malfunctioned???



via FAYObserver
Lance Cpl. Steven J. Szymanski reached over the front seat of a light armored vehicle to grab his helmet.
In doing so, the lever that raises the seat was accidentally triggered and Szymanski was trapped with his neck between the back of the driver's seat and the ceiling of the vehicle.
At least 15 minutes passed before a fellow Marine found Szymanski and pulled him out. By then, according to officials, it was too late.
A 147-page report obtained Thursday by the Observer details the Marine's accidental death on Fort Bragg last year and shows that at least 11 other Marines from his unit had experienced similar seat malfunctions.
The malfunctions, however, were never reported to the appropriate personnel.
Szymanski, 24, of Midland, Michigan, was training on Fort Bragg with his unit, the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Lejeune, when he was killed on Oct. 21.
A light-armored vehicle crewman, Szymanski was conducting post-operation checks from inside the LAV when he reached to grab his helmet.
According to the command investigation, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the LAV seat was not locked into place because the locking pin, which would have prevented the seat from moving up or down, was rusted and seized in the open position.
The Marine investigator ruled Szymanski's death, most likely caused by traumatic asphyxiation, an accident.
JESUS!

You have got to be fucking me!  Another young Marine has died, a family is in mourning and a life of promise ended because a fucking seat malfunctioned?

The fact that this isn't a scandal should shock us all.

Death in combat is one thing.

Even a training accident can be accepted (won't like it but shit happens and the job is dangerous)...but to die because of a malfunctioning seat?

HQMC and the LAV Community need to fix this post haste.  

7 comments :

  1. How Sol? The seat is designed to move up and down, it's not a "malfunction", that guy's head should never have been there in the first place. If you keep going down the "everything must be safe" road, you'll end up with "Health and Safety" gone crazy and a huge lot of red tape.

    I'd rather take that random screwed up death than mire my army down in red tape and paperwork.

    Can you imagine this on the LAV seat next time?

    "Do not place your head on the seat".

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    Replies
    1. if you have Marines (at least two have died as a result of this seat malfunction) that are suffering injuries due to a vehicle design then its time to examine that design and figure out a way to make it safer. its not being a safety NAZI, its about looking at preventable deaths due to FORESEEN circumstances.

      screw up death falls under training accidents. they're still tragic but like i said in the post....understandable...its a dangerous job, lots of moving people around explosives, firearms and heavy vehicles. people will be careful as hell and still die in those circumstances.

      but a seat?

      in a vehicle that is going through post operation checks?

      its happened before?

      on this we part ways. something is wrong here. either its a design issue, a training issue or both. but something has to give. telling a mother that her son died in combat is one thing. telling a mother that her son died because the Marine Corps put fucked up seats in LAVs is something else entirely.

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    2. Or maybe you are looking at it in reverse. The seat does what it is supposed to. It's the fucked up head that is not supposed to be in that location.

      Face it. Do you design a seat for the scenario where someone puts his head there? Don't think any designer does that, automotive or armour.

      I'd just give the crewmen bicycle hooks to hang off the edge of the hatch for them to hang their helmets from. Problem solved, no more putting heads on seats to dig for their helmets.

      The printing on claymore mines still gets me chucking from time to time.

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    3. How, Owl?? As in the malfunctioning, rusted, 'locking-pin' which should have otherwise prevented that totally unacceptable and preventable accidental death?!? Please think again man...

      Delete
  2. LAV seat was not locked into place because the locking pin, which would have prevented the seat from moving up or down, was rusted and seized in the open position.

    the locking pin, which would have prevented the seat from moving up or down, was rusted and seized in the open position.
    If I could bold that I would. There was a safety system in place but the safety system was not up to code meaning there was no safety system at all. Had the pin operational this young Marine would be alive.

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  3. The seats are designed to protect occupants from IED blasts and functioned as designed. Last I checked, investigations give you 3 options: lack of maintenance, lack of training, or lack of supervision. To me it sounds like all 3 in this case. How someone could say it is an "Accident" is unbelievable!

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  4. nothing is worse than the V22 accident in marana during testing .. 20 marines died testing the V22

    ReplyDelete

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