Clutch Issue Blamed in Marine Chopper Crash That Killed New Hampshire Pilot

Mechanical error is to blame for the crash of a Marine V-22 Osprey in California in June 2022 during a training mission, which killed a Seacoast pilot.

Capt. Nicholas P. Losapio, 31, who grew up in Kensington, was one of two pilots onboard the training flight when the helicopter crashed in Glamis, California.

"It is clear from the investigation that there was no error on the part of the pilots and aircrew and nothing they could have done to anticipate or prevent this mishap. They were conducting routine flight operations in accordance with applicable regulations when this catastrophic and unanticipated mechanical failure occurred. The investigation also found there was no maintenance error on the part of the team whose job it was to prepare the aircraft to fly on the day of the flight," read the report released Friday.

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

The investigation revealed the cause of the mishap was a dual hard clutch engagement (HCE), which created a Single Engine and Interconnect Drive System (Single Engine/ICDS) failure; the failure resulted in a catastrophic loss of thrust on the right-hand (RH) proprotor. 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 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 were identified as: Cpl. Nathan E. Carlson, 21, of Winnebago, Illinois; Cpl. Seth D. Rasmuson, 21, of Johnson, Wyoming; Capt. John J. Sax, 33, of Placer, California; and Lance Cpl. Evan A. Strickland, 19, of Valencia, New Mexico.

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

Losapio was a member of the Exeter High School Class of 2009 and was on the wresting team, according to his obituary. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Norwich University in Vermont, and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Marines after graduation in 2013.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH