Marine Corps Capt. Chris Latimer, left, an instructor pilot for Training Squadron (VT) 31, and Ensign Marvin Smith, a student naval aviator, conduct pre-operation procedures before a training flight in a T-44C Pegasus aircraft on Jan. 12, 2012. US Navy photo.
The Navy is creating a Professional Flight Instructor (PFI) program that would allow pilots and naval flight officers to remain in the Navy later in their careers as flight instructors outside the normal sea/shore rotation. Read More
(left to right)Lt. j.g. Wallace E. Burch, 25 and Lt. Patrick L. Ruth, 31. Photo via U.S. Navy
This post has been updated to include additional information from the office of the Commander of Naval Air Forces.
The Navy determined that aggressive and unsafe behaviors by the instructor pilot and the student naval aviator led to a T-45C Goshawk training aircraft crash in October. Read More
Two sailors in a T-34C Turbomentor before a training flight. US Navy Photo
A previous version of the post indicated the instructor and pilot had “ejected” from the T-34C Turbomentor that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. The aircraft isn’t equipped with ejection seats and the term “ejected” has been replaced with “bailed out.”
A two-seater Navy training aircraft crashed Thursday morning in the Gulf of Mexico during a training flight, officials with the service’s Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) told USNI News Thursday afternoon. Read More
