The households of 5 Marines who had been killed when their V-22 Osprey helicopter crashed throughout a 2022 coaching train in Imperial County have sued the designers and producers of the plane, alleging misleading practices and systemic failures.
Bell Textron, Boeing and Rolls Royce didn’t make “truthful statements to the federal government and to service members concerning the design, operation, and security of V-22 Osprey plane,” the grievance alleges.
A navy investigation of the crash concluded that pilots and upkeep crews weren’t at fault. The report stated {that a} clutch disengaged after which reengaged, damaging the plane’s transmission and inflicting engine failure.
“Bell-Boeing has been conscious of exhausting clutch engagement issues within the V-22 Ospreys since 2010,” stated Timothy Loranger, a Marine Corps veteran and lawyer representing the households of these killed within the accident. “However right here we’re greater than a dozen years later, and that data hasn’t resulted in an answer, and the malfunction has continued to value lives.”
The Marines killed within the crash had been Cpl. Nathan E. Carlson, 21, of Winnebago, Sick., a Tiltrotor crew chief; Capt. Nicholas P. Losapio, 31, of Rockingham, N.H., an MV-22B pilot; Cpl. Seth D. Rasmuson, 21, of Johnson, Wyo., a Tiltrotor crew chief; Capt. John J. Sax, 33, of Placer, Calif., an MV-22B pilot; and Lance Cpl. Evan A. Strickland, 19, of Valencia, N.M., a Tiltrotor crew chief. They had been assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 364, beneath the third Marine Plane Wing.
Clockwise from prime left: Capt. John Sax; Lance Cpl. Evan Strickland; Capt. Nicholas Losapio; Cpl. Nathan Carlson; Cpl. Seth Rasmuson.
(Courtesy of third Marine Plane Wing)
The lawsuit claims that six extra comparable incidents have occurred because the June 2022 crash.
The Osprey has had a troubled latest historical past, together with two deadly accidents final 12 months: a crash in Australia which left three service members lifeless, and one other in Japan which killed eight.
The U.S. navy grounded its Osprey fleet in late 2023 after the crash in Japan and Congress launched an investigation into the Osprey program shortly thereafter.
In March 2024, U.S. and Japanese forces resumed Osprey flights after finishing upkeep and coaching packages.
Boeing has been in sizzling water over plane malfunctions on industrial flights, and now additionally faces scrutiny as one in all three manufacturing and design corporations concerned within the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Bell Textron declined to remark. Representatives for Boeing and Rolls Royce didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
“We would like assurance that these elements have been efficiently redesigned, examined, and rendered secure,” Amber Sax, the spouse of Capt. John Sax, one of many deceased, stated in an announcement.
“The significance of addressing this can’t be overstated,” she stated. “It’s not nearly fixing a machine, however about guaranteeing that no different household has to endure this loss once more.”
