Clutch issue blamed in Marine helicopter crash that killed NH pilot

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A mechanical error is behind the crash of a Marine V-22 Osprey in California in June 2022 during a missing formation that killed a Seacoast pilot.

Captain Nicholas P. Losapio, 31, who grew up in Kensington, was one of two pilots aboard the training flight when the helicopter crashed in Glamis, California, 185 miles east of San Diego.

“It is clear from the investigation that there was no error on the part of the pilots and flight crew and that there was nothing they could have done to anticipate or prevent this accident. They were conducting routine flight operations in accordance with applicable regulations when this catastrophic and unforeseen mechanical failure occurred. The investigation also revealed that there was no maintenance error on the part of the team responsible for preparing the aircraft for flight on the day of the flight,” reads the report released on Friday.

According to the report, the problem was with a clutch, one of 16 similar problems experienced by Osprey helicopters in flight.

Investigation revealed that the cause of the incident was a double hard clutch engagement (HCE) which created a failure of the single motor drive system and interconnect (single motor/ICDS); the failure resulted in a catastrophic loss of thrust on the right proprotor (RH). The degraded transmission caused by the dual HCE event and the subsequent single engine/ICDS failure created an unrecoverable departure from controlled flight, resulting in the June 8, 2022 crash.

There have been no other clutch issues since the Marines began replacing a piece of equipment on the Osprey.

The other crew members have been identified as: Cpl. Nathan E. Carlson, 21, of Winnebago, Ill.; Cpl. Seth D. Rasmuson, 21, of Johnson, Wyoming; Capt. John J. Sax, 33, of Placer, Calif.; and, Lance Cpl. Evan A. Strickland, 19, of Valencia, New Mexico.

They were all members of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 364, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), based at Camp Pendleton, California, also known as “The Purple Foxes” squadron.

Losapio was a member of Exeter High School’s class of 2009 and was on the wrestling squad, according to his obituary. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Norwich University in Vermont and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marines after graduating in 2013.

Contact journalist Dan Alexander at [email protected] or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH

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