California (Agencies): Boeing, along with Bell Textron and Rolls-Royce, is being sued by the families of US servicemen who were killed in a V-22 Osprey crash in California in 2022. The lawsuit accuses the companies of hiding and failing to correct known reliability issues with the aircraft.
The suit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of California, alleges that the three corporations “intentionally, recklessly and/or negligently provided false information about the safety, airworthiness, and reliability of V-22 Osprey aircraft,” its engines, systems, and component parts.
The incident in question occurred on June 8, during a training mission in southern California. The V-22 suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure and crashed, killing all five Marines on board. A subsequent investigation by the US Marine Corps found no error on the part of the pilots, aircrew, or ground crew that could have anticipated or prevented the mishap.
The V-22 Osprey, a relatively recent addition to the US aircraft fleet, is capable of vertical takeoff and landing using its tilting twin proprotors. Since 1991, there have been 58 accidents involving Ospreys, resulting in more than 60 fatalities. The aircraft gained the nickname ‘widow maker’, having led to 30 deaths before it even entered service in 2007.
In November last year, the US military temporarily ceased all flights of the aircraft for an investigation after a V-22 crashed near Yakushima, Japan, killing eight. Two months prior, Boeing was ordered to pay $8.1 million to settle allegations that it failed to adhere to critical manufacturing specifications in its V-22 parts production. The claims were brought against the aerospace giant by three whistleblowers who worked at its Ridley Park, Pennsylvania facility.