Families of Marines killed in 2022 Osprey crash file wrongful death lawsuit

The families of five Marines killed in a June 2022 Osprey crash in Southern California have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court, blaming the companies that build the planes for the tragedy.

The lawsuit filed this week names Boeing, Rolls Royce and Bell Textron, all of which are involved in the production of the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, which can take off vertically like a helicopter and fly like an airplane by changing the angle of its propellers.

All five Marines aboard the Osprey were killed when a clutch problem caused the right engine to fail during a training flight and the plane went out of control over Glamis, California, according to a military report on the investigation into the accident.

The investigation found that the accident was due to an “unavoidable” mechanical failure and not to any error by the pilots, crew or maintenance personnel.

The Marines killed were:

-Capt. John J. Sax, 33, of Placer, California-Capt. Nicholas P. Losapio, 31, of Rockingham, New Hampshire-Cpl. Nathan E. Carlson, 21, of Winnebago, Illinois-Cpl. Seth D. Rasmuson, 21, of Johnson, Wyoming-Lance Cpl. Evan A. Strickland, 19, of Valencia, New Mexico

“John taught me to be brave, both through his life and his death. What happened to him, Nick, Nathan, Seth and Evan on June 8, 2022 should never have happened,” said a statement from Amber Sax, wife of Captain John Sax. “Our service members deserve equipment and aircraft without failures, especially failures that can result in the loss of their lives.”

Four families of the five deceased Marines are represented by the law firm Winser Baum.

“The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the families of Sax, Carlson, Rasmuson and Strickland, accuses the companies of negligence, negligent misrepresentation and fraudulent misrepresentation for failing to ‘provide the government and military personnel with truthful information about the design, operation and safety of the V-22 Osprey aircraft,'” the law firm said in a press release Thursday.

The 2022 disaster was just one of several fatal Osprey crashes in recent years. In August 2023, three Marines were killed when their Osprey crashed during an exercise off the north coast of Australia. In November of the same year, another crash in Japan killed eight pilots.

After the November crash, the military grounded all of its Osprey aircraft, a precautionary measure designed to give time to investigate potential problems and make safety recommendations. The military lifted the flight ban in early 2024 after implementing several new protocols and restrictions.

“I firmly believe that the protocols we are putting in place will prevent such a catastrophic event in the future,” Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, said in March.

“Despite assurances from companies like Bell-Boeing about the safety of these aircraft and their systems, the facts continue to raise concerns and reveal a very different reality,” Timothy Loranger, an attorney at Winser Baum, said in a statement to ABC News.

A Boeing representative told ABC News on Friday, “We cannot comment on pending litigation.” A Rolls-Royce representative said, “We are not commenting at this time.” Bell Textron did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.