Saturday, April 8, 2017

T-45C flight pause extended

T-45C used in training at three bases.
U.S. Navy photo
The Navy's decision Wednesday to suspend flights – an operational pause – for its T-45C fleet after pilots expressed concern about physiological episodes has been extended. That will give the Navy more time to review engineering data and develop a path forward for the fleet that will ensure the safety of its aircrew. Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, commander of Naval Air Forces, has been visiting T-45C training commands across the fleet to address recent concerns. He went to Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, NAS Pensacola, Fla., and NAS Meridian, Miss., to talk with instructor pilots and student pilots about their physiological episodes experienced in the cockpits of T-45C training aircraft. On March 31 roughly 40 percent of flights in the T-45C training commands in Meridian, Pensacola and Kingsville were canceled because of the operational risk management issues raised by instructor pilots. (Source: NNS, 04/08/17) Previous