Gearbox problem caused fatal Osprey crash, Marines say
https://twitter.com/DefenseOne/status/1682572924870336512
The MV-22B Osprey crash that killed five Marines in California last June was caused by a gear problem the service has known about for years, according to a 436-page redacted command investigation released Friday.
A “dual hard clutch engagement” caused an engine and the interconnect drive system to fail, which led to the “catastrophic loss of thrust” on the right proprotor, the Marine Corps said in a statement. “The degraded drivetrain caused by the dual HCE event and subsequent single engine/ICDS failure created an unrecoverable departure from controlled flight, resulting in the tragic crash that occurred on June 8, 2022.”
The pilots, crew, and maintenance of the aircraft were not to blame in the crash, the V-22 Joint Program Office said in their statement.