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US Navy Halts T-45 Goshawk Jet Training Flights for 3 Days After Pilots' Protest

© Photo : Public DomainT-45 Goshawk
T-45 Goshawk - Sputnik International
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The US Navy suspended all T-45 Goshawk aircraft training flights for three days after 100 instructor pilots had refused to fly the jets, protesting against the Navy leadership's refusal to tackle problems with the aircraft oxygen system, a Navy spokeswoman wrote in an email to the Fox News broadcaster Thursday.

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MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the broadcaster’s Tuesday report, the protest which had started last week resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of training flights. Many Navy flight instructors cited the surge in incidents of "histotoxic hypoxia," the medical term for oxygen poisoning, in the 30-year-old T-45 Goshawk.

"We take the concerns of our aircrew seriously and have directed a… safety pause for the T-45 community to allow time for Naval Aviation leadership to engage with the pilots, hear their concerns and discuss the risk mitigations as well as the efforts that are ongoing to correct this issue," Cmdr. Jeannie Groeneveld wrote.

According to the news outlet, Marine 1st Lt. Michael Pence, son of Vice President Mike Pence, is among the pilots effected by the protests, putting additional pressure on Naval aviation leaders to resolve the issue. Navy superiors plan to visit all three bases where T-45 aircraft are used to meet with the pilots and hear their concerns, the reports said.

Histotoxic hypoxia leads to disorientating disorder which can endanger both the lives of pilots operating the aircraft and civilians on the ground.

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