The families of four of five Camp Pendleton-based Marines killed in a 2022 Osprey crash filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against the manufacturing companies behind the aircraft, alleging the companies were aware of mechanical flaws in the vehicle that ultimately contributed to the servicemembers' deaths.
The lawsuit names Boeing, Bell Textron, Rolls Royce Corp. and Rolls- Royce North America as defendants, and argues the companies failed to correct well-known issues that allegedly caused the June 8, 2022, crash near Glamis.
Killed in the crash were:
— Capt. John J. Sax, 33, from Placer, California;
— Capt. Nicholas P. Losapio, 31, from Rockingham, New Hampshire;
— Cpl. Nathan E. Carlson, 21, from Winnebago, Illinois;
— Cpl. Seth D. Rasmuson, 21, from Johnson, Wyoming;
— Lance Cpl. Evan A. Strickland, 19, from Valencia, New Mexico.
All but Losapio's families are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
A Marine Corps investigation found a longtime mechanical problem that has plagued the Osprey called a “hard clutch engagement” caused the crash.
All Ospreys in the military were grounded in December after eight Air Force airmen were killed in a crash off Japan. That crash is still under investigation.
The military began flying the Ospreys again in March after what it said were “maintenance and procedural fixes.”
Attorneys representing the families say Osprey accidents have resulted in 62 deaths since it entered service, including the deaths last year of three Marines in Australia and eight U.S. Air Force crewmen in Japan. They also say six hard clutch engagement incidents have occurred since the June 8, 2022, crash.
Ari Friedman is one of the attorneys representing the families in the suit. He said one of the goals of the lawsuit is to force the manufacturers to solve the Osprey's problems for good.
"What we've seen coming out of the manufacturers is that their response to all these crashes is to develop workarounds," said Friedman. "But in the back of my mind, I'm still lingering on this question of why are these crashes happening? And nobody has the answer for that yet."
Friedman said the families hope no one goes through this again.
"They want this aircraft to be made safer so these types of things don't happen and future Marines and their families don't have to go through what they went through," he said.
Since March 2022, 20 U.S. service members have been killed in four separate Osprey crashes.
