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Navy Orders One-day Stand-down Following Two Accidents

The pilot of an FA-18 Super Hornet ejected safely before the aircraft crashed in California. Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon Renfroe/US Navy photo
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Key Takeaways:

  • Naval Air Forces initiated a one-day safety stand-down for all non-deployed units following two recent aircraft crashes: a T-6 Texan II and an F/A-18E Super Hornet.
  • The T-6 Texan II crash near NAS Whiting Field, Florida, resulted in the deaths of Coast Guard Ensign Morgan Garrett and Navy Lt. Rhiannon Ross.
  • An F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed near Naval Weapons Station China Lake, California, though its pilot was able to eject safely.
  • The safety stand-down aims to improve operational risk management and ironically follows the Naval Safety Center's report of no aviation-related fatalities in the preceding fiscal year, a first since 1922.
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The crash of a T-6 Texan II in Alabama last week—in addition to the loss of an F-18 Hornet near China Lake California earlier in the week—was enough for the head of Naval Air Forces to call for a one-day safety stand-down that grounded all non-deployed units in an attempt to determine the cause of the mishaps.

Rob Mark

Rob Mark is an award-winning journalist, business jet pilot, flight instructor, and blogger.

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