More than 100 Navy instructor pilots have gone on strike refusing to fly due to what they feel is an unsafe T-45 Goshawk training aircraft. The aviators are complaining that the planes oxygen system is not functioning properly and making it unsafe to fly the aircraft.
It is being reported that hundreds of training flights have been canceled in about a weeks time.
“The pilots don’t feel safe flying this aircraft,” one instructor pilot told Fox News.
In the last five years, physiological episodes, caused in part by problems with the oxygen system, have nearly quadrupled on the T-45 training jet, according to Capitol Hill testimony last week by senior naval aviators.
“There is no question that there are problems that are being covered up,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said. “I am very concerned about the issue. It’s been getting worse over time and if you look at the statistics, the older airplanes are having bigger problems than newer airplanes.” – Fox News
Apparently, incidences of oxygen poisoning while flying the Goshawk have been growing at a rapid pace lately with instructor pilots reporting as many as three occurrences per week. The pilots state that there is no warning of when the oxygen system will fail to provide good clean breathable air and that it happens on a random basis causing hypoxic symptoms.
Have any of your ever heard of military pilots going on strike and refusing to fly because of faulty equipment and lack of concern by the chain of command? Share your stories with us if you have.
Featured image of T-45 Goshawk training jet by US Navy
