USN T-45 flight instructors go on strike, planes grounded

The U.S. Navy was forced to ground its T-45 advanced jet trainer fleet after more than 100 instructional pilots refused to fly the aircraft, citing issues with the jet’s oxygen system.

T-45A Goshawk 03
By Lt. j.g. John A. Ivancic [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The sailing branch’s Naval Air Forces says it will observe a three-day “safety pause” for “aviation leadership to speak with the pilots, listen to their concerns, and discuss ongoing risk mitigations.”

The news was first reported by Fox News on Apr. 4. The report said a T-45 crash in August 2016 was due to both instructor and student having hypoxia symptoms and they decided to eject.