The U.S. Navy has grounded its fleet of T-45C Goshawk trainer jets for several days to address safety concerns raised by instructor pilots, the service announced late April 5.
The Navy said that recent physiological episodes in T-45C cockpits were caused b
y contamination of the aircraft’s onboard oxygen generation system (OBOGS), or pilot breathing gas. The grounding, or “operational pause,” will allow naval aviation leaders to meet with the pilots to explain efforts to find a solution to the problem, the Navy said.
“This issue is my number one safety priority,” said Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, commander of naval air forces, who ordered the grounding.
Physiological episodes involve a decrease in aircrew performance and can jeopardize a safe flight. According to March 28 congressional testimony by three naval aviation leaders, the T-45 experienced a rate of 46.97 episodes per 100,000 flight hours in 2016, up from 11.86 in 2012.
T-45C flights are expected to resume April 10. The Navy has 197 T-45s based at three naval stations: Kingsville in Texas, Meridian in Mississippi and Pensacola in Florida.
The two-seat, single-engine, carrier-capable T-45 has been in service since 1991. Boeing [BA] is the prime contractor for the jet, a derivative of the BAE Systems Hawk.