Navy pilot whose plane crashed in Iraq in '91 is classified 'MIA'

WASHINGTON

The Navy on Tuesday changed the official status of a pilot who went missing after his plane crashed in the early days of the Persian Gulf War.

Navy Secretary Donald Winter has determined that Capt. Michael Scott Speicher is now "missing in action" instead of "missing/captured."

In making this distinction, Winter went against the recommendation of a status review board, which had determined the F/A-18 Hornet pilot's status should remain "missing/captured."

"Given the current state of U.S. presence and access to the territory of Iraq, and the discrediting of all intelligence sources who previously claimed to have seen Captain Speicher in captivity, there is currently no credible evidence that Captain Speicher is 'captured,' " Winter said in a statement released by the Navy.

"For Captain Speicher to be in captivity today one would have to accept a massive conspiracy of silence and perfectly executed deception that has lasted for over 18 years and that continues today."

Winter said the board's recommendation caused him "great concern," given its "failure to employ a logical analytic process."

Speicher's plane crashed in Iraq in 1991, and he was declared dead soon after. In 2001, the Navy changed his status to "missing in action." A year later, they switched it to "missing/captured." These changes were based on evidence found after the war that Speicher had ejected from his crippled plane before it crashed, as well as reported sightings of him inside Iraq.

In October, an intelligence report concluded that Speicher was dead, but his remains had not been located. Winter convened the board to review that information. He then reviewed the board's report, along with the original Defense Intelligence Agency assessment and comments from Speicher's family.

Winter has called for a new review board to assess the case within the next 12 months.

Speicher's family and friends have pushed the Navy to continue its search until there is a definitive answer about his fate. They believe he survived the crash with no major injuries. Tuesday's announcement did not sit well with the family's attorney, Cindy Laquidara.

"We want action to be taken. We have waited for actual action," she said. "When people make things a priority, things happen."

Laquidara wondered how anything new would happen over the next 12 months in which the next review panel's assessment would occur.

If nothing else, she said, the family is prepared to act on its own.

"We were ready to go in there before the war," she said. "We'll go in there and do it our darn selves."

The issue is ultimately bigger than just Speicher, Laquidara said.

"We're fighting two wars," she said. "We can't have a message that we leave our guys behind."

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949, matthew.jones@pilotonline.com