Families of Marines killed in Osprey crash in California in 2022 sue aircraft manufacturers

The families of four of five Marines who were killed when their Osprey crashed in California in June 2022 have filed a federal lawsuit.

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The lawsuit was filed against Bell Textron, The Boeing Co. and Rolls Royce, the manufacturers behind the Osprey. According to The Associated Press, Bell Textron in a partnership with Boeing builds the Ospreys while Rolls Royce produces its engines.

The five Marines were killed when their MV-22 Osprey had a catastrophic mechanical failure. According to the AP, there was a known issue with the Osprey. That known issue happened at least a dozen times since 2010.

The lawsuit claims that the manufacturers of the Osprey did not address known mechanical failures which led to the deaths of the five Marines.

Capts. Nicholas Losapio and John Sax;, Cpls. Nathan Carlson and Seth Rasmuson; and Lance Cpl. Evan Strickland were killed in the crash, according to CNN.

The families of Sax, Carlson, Strickland and Rasmuson filed the lawsuit accusing the companies of negligence, negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, and the failure to warn, CNN reported. The lawsuit claims that the design of the Osprey did not meet U.S. safety standards, according to the AP.

Bell-Boeing has been aware of hard clutch engagement problems in the V-22 Ospreys since 2010,” said Timothy Loranger, a Marine Corps veteran and lawyer representing the families, The Los Angeles Times reported. “But here we are more than a dozen years later, and that knowledge hasn’t resulted in a solution, and the malfunction has continued to cost lives.”

An investigation conducted by the military found that neither the pilots nor the maintenance crews were not at fault, the LA Times reported.

Boeing, Bell Textron and Rolls Royce have not responded to CNN for comment. Boeing and Bell told the AP they were unable to comment on litigation. Rolls Royce did not respond for comment.

The lawsuit comes a few months after a V-22 Osprey crashed on the coast of Japan which led to the deaths of six U.S. Special Operations airmen, CNN reported. Boeing has also been facing criticism recently after a hole blew open the side of a Boeing 737 MAX in January during the flight.

Last August, three U.S. Marines were killed in Australia when their MV-22B Osprey crashed during military exercises, according to CNN. Months before the five U.S. Marines were killed in the crash in California in 022, four U.S. service members died in an MV-22 crash while conducting a NATO exercise.

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