U.S. naval jet trainers have been placed on an operational pause after an in-flight mishap over Mississippi on Friday, USNI News has learned.
According to the Chief of Naval Air Training, the Navy’s fleet of T-45C Goshawks “aircraft have been paused while CNATRA assesses the fleet’s ability to safely resume flying,” reads a Monday statement provided to USNI News.
The order to not fly the trainers follows an engine malfunction of a Goshawk from Training Air Wing One on Friday afternoon.
“As a result, the crew executed a precautionary landing to Hesler-Noble Field in Laurel, Mississippi. The crew reported no injuries and the extent of damage to the aircraft engine is under investigation,” reads the statement.
Naval Air Systems Command did not issue a grounding bulletin for the class as of Monday afternoon, a spokeswoman told USNI News.
USNI News understands the engine malfunction was related to a blade fault, according to a source familiar with the initial assessment. The class was placed on a similar safety pause in 2022 for two weeks following a blade failure in a T-45’s Rolls Royce turbofan engine. A message left with a Rolls Royce spokesperson was not immediately returned.
The T-45C is the primary platform to train U.S. Navy and Marines aircraft carrier pilots and has been in service since the early 1990s. The Navy has been considering replacing the Goshawk as part of the new Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) program .
The following is the complete April 15, 2024 from CNATRA.
At approximately 1:57p.m. CST on Friday, April 12, a T-45C Goshawk assigned to Training Air Wing One experienced an in-flight engine malfunction. As a result, the crew executed a precautionary landing to Hesler-Noble Field in Laurel, Mississippi. The crew reported no injuries and the extent of damage to the aircraft engine is under investigation. Out of an abundance of caution, operations of all T-45C Goshawk aircraft have been paused while CNATRA assesses the fleet’s ability to safely resume flying.
