A T-34C Turbomentor, a primary training aircraft for the US Navy, crashed last Wednesday evening. The two-man crew survived. The T-34 does not have ejection seats; it is unclear if they bailed out or ditched. They were picked up by a Coast Guard helicopter that was already on patrol.
As with every military mishap, the incident will be investigated and reported on several months from now.
According to the Navy Times, the “show cause” board reviewing the case of former commanding officer of the carrier USS Enterprise, CAPT Owen Honors, has recommended he be allowed to remain in the Navy.
The three-admiral board unanimously agreed Honors committed misconduct, failed to demonstrate acceptable qualities of leadership required of an officer in his grade and failed to conform to prescribed standards of military deportment. But it also voted 3-0 that Honors “be retained in the naval service.”
Honors’ attorney, Charles Gittins, said “O.P. is pleased” that he gets to stay in the Navy.
The article notes that Honors has highlighted himself in the face of upcoming force reduction boards, so he may eventually be forced to retire anyway.
According to the Military Times, the midair collision of two F/A-18s from Naval Air Station Fallon last year was the result of a very simple pilot error:
Shortly after takeoff, they moved into a “wall formation” with the Super Hornets four abreast, putting 1.2 nautical miles between the two planes that eventually would collide. The lieutenant commander was flying one of the two inside planes.
“90-right, go,” the lieutenant commander announced, signaling everyone to turn.
While the three other planes turned right, for some reason the lieutenant commander turned left. Read more
According to the Navy Times, Naval Academy midshipmen (cadets) went on a little scavenger hunt aboard the decommissioned USS Saratoga while they were on “summer cruise.”
On June 13, four Naval Academy midshipmen snuck aboard the decommissioned carrier…
And that’s when they decided to take things, according to academy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. William Marks. Gauges. A gyrocompass. Display dials.
“From what we can tell, they were overzealous about collecting cool things from a former aircraft carrier,” Marks said Monday. The mids took their appropriated souvenirs back to their yard patrol craft, where they were caught by the officer-in-charge of the YP.
The event is described as a “recon,” or “stunt.” The Air Force Academy has similar “spirit missions.” While all the service academies have rules against “stealing,” it is not uncommon — in fact, its sometimes encouraged — to appropriate or Read more
US Navy Lt Haji “Omar” Shareef, a helicopter pilot, was interviewed recently on his ability to adhere to the religious tenets of Ramadan while being a military pilot. (Video below the fold.)
While he says Muslims can largely do their duties, he notes they do ask for accommodations such as not doing physical training during the day, since they cannot drink water between sunrise and sunset.
On his part, as a pilot, he “puts himself on Read more
The report on the T-34 crash that occurred in New Orleans in January 2010 says the incident, in which the instructor pilot was killed, could have been prevented.
According to the Navy Times, the aircraft descended below required minimums without visually acquiring the runway. The aircraft then impacted the water. Both crewmembers climbed out; they didn’t have water survival gear. They became separated, and the instructor pilot’s body was found a few days later. The student Read more
A variety of news sources are now reporting the US Air Force ended a training class after an internet article belittled its religious content. Contrary to some assertions, this is actually not a big deal.
This much has been accurately reported: The Air Force training slides had Bible verses, and the course was led by a Chaplain. There was a public article. The Air Force pulled the course to “review it.”
Beyond that, much of the other reporting has been misrepresented or inaccurate.
The Air Force has suspended a training course for nuclear missile launch officers that used Bible passages and religious imagery to teach them about the ethics of war.
Unfortunately, that’s essentially a misrepresentation, likely because the conclusion was drawn solely from a copy of the slides used in the brief — sans notes or context. The course did not use Biblical citations to teach ethics. The ~40-slide PowerPoint presentation was an ethical discussion on the conduct of war, with emphasis on the application of nuclear weapons. (The title of the first seven slides is “Ethics;” the second section is “Nuclear Ethics and Nuclear Warfare.”)
The course’s focus was to address common Read more
In a bit of sensationalist headlining, a few news articles noted the Defense Department report blasting the acquisition program of the Navy’s MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter.
According to a June 24 report from the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation, the critical error came when the drone’s operator accidentally pressed the spacebar with a wire from his headset — launching the self-destruct mechanism on the vehicle.
As the articles later note, there’s no such thing as a single-button Read more