As previously discussed, an F-22A Raptor crashed during a test sortie at Edwards AFB, CA, in March of this year.  The test pilot, Lockheed civilian contractor David “Cools” Cooley, perished in the incident.

While an official investigation has not been publicized to date, the Washington Post appears to have been given an answer.  In a marginally-related article on the future of the F-22 program, writer R. Jeffrey Smith notes that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had been willing to purchase four more F-22s, but only four, to make the total 187.  One was to replace the lost F-22: 

One of the last four planes Gates supported buying is meant to replace an F-22 that crashed during a test flight north of Los Angeles on March 25, during his review of the program.

The Air Force has declined to discuss the cause, but a classified internal accident report completed the following month states that the plane flew into the ground after poorly executing a high-speed run with its weapons-bay doors open, according to three government officials familiar with its contents. The Lockheed test pilot died.

Thus, “three government officials” have said the cause of the F-22A crash at Edwards was a “poorly executed” test maneuver.  Again, the Air Force has not officially announced its conclusions on the incident.

In fact, the “government officials” may wish to remain anonymous because their “revelation,” if true, may actually be punishable.  The following explains:

While one cannot use the word “never,” it is extremely rare for the Air Force to “classify” an accident investigation.  It may be that it is the writer’s terminology for what the Air Force calls “privileged.”

There are two separate investigations after a mishap: the first is “privileged,” while the second is not.

In the first investigation (normally called a “mishap investigation”), a board of officers convenes in what is called a Safety Investigation Board (SIB).  Their objective is to determine the cause of the incident in order to prevent further occurrences–their job is not to assign blame.  As a result, personnel involved in the mishap are granted “privilege,” which roughly means that they can speak freely, without a lawyer, and their words will not be used against them in any form, legal or otherwise.

The Air Force guards the security of privilege jealously.  Chapter 3 of Air Force Instruction (AFI) 91-204 (which is publicly available) describes privileged information.  It specifically notes

Air Force civilian employees, military members, and government contractors will not wrongfully use, permit the use of, gain access to, or allow access to the privileged information in any safety report, or portions thereof, for other than officially authorized mishap prevention purposes. 

Violations of [these] prohibitions…are punishable under Article 92, UCMJ and may be grounds for disciplinary actions according to civilian personnel regulations, or may lead to contract actions. 

The Air Force protects privilege because it enables honest and forthcoming input from those involved in the mishap, which is the most likely way to prevent future incidents.

In most cases, and by regulation, the investigation is to conclude within 30 days, at which point the final report is briefed to the appropriate authority.  These reports remain privileged forever because of their utility to the mishap prevention process.  They are not “classified” in the true sense of the word, though to a non-military person they may appear to be treated that way.

In many cases, after the SIB completes its investigation, an Accident Investigation Board (AIB) convenes.  (An AIB always occurs when a life is lost.)  The objective of the AIB is to assign blame.  Those interviewed by this board may be read their rights and advised to speak with an attorney.  The AIB does not have access to the privileged information collected by the SIB.  The Washington Post appears to acknowledge an ongoing AIB for the F-22 mishap when it says

The Air Force is still probing who should be held accountable for the accident.

The AIB report, barring unusual circumstances, is normally releasable to the public.  In fact, an official Air Force website provides the ability to download the executive summaries of all Class A reports over the past few years.  (A Class A mishap is one in which a life is lost or a specific dollar value is surpassed.)  It currently lists the F-22 mishap at Edwards as “pending.”

Thus, while “three government officials” gave a one-line answer claiming to reveal the cause of the F-22A crash, an official, publicly-releasable report has not yet been provided by the Air Force.

The unnamed officials, or those who gave them access to the “report’s contents,” may have violated Air Force policies when they did so.