US Navy student pilot training is falling behind as the service struggles to find answers for the breathing system problems that grounded the entire T-45 Goshawk fleet earlier this year. Back in April 100 Navy instructor pilots went on strike refusing to fly the aircraft due to safety concerns.

Addressing a panel of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Vice Adm. Paul Grosklags said flights on the T-45 Goshawk trainer remain at a standstill, with students delayed in their transition to the fleet at the rate of 25 per month.

“We are not doing well on the diagnosis,” Grosklags told Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on seapower.

Actual training, he testified, remains at a standstill. “It would be far easier if we could find out what the root cause was, and then go after fixing that root cause,” Grosklags said. “To date, we have been unable to find any smoking guns.” – Military.com

This is really stunning news that the Navy can’t determine the cause of the problem. Recently the Air Force grounded the new F-35 stealth fighters stationed at Luke Air Force Base citing problems with that aircraft’s breathing systems.

Featured images by US Navy