Navy air boss extends operational pause of T-45C fleet

The Navy's air boss has extended the operational pause of its T-45C Goshawk fleet for at least an additional week after pilot complaints of physiological episodes.

Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, Naval Air Forces commander, visited T-45C training wings at Naval Air Stations Meridian, MS, Kingsville, TX and Pensacola, FL. The physiological episodes are caused by the oxygen breathing system in the aircraft built by Cobham, Shoemaker wrote in an April 9 blog post.

A physiological episode occurs when the environmental control system or the onboard oxygen generation system does not meet the requirement for oxygen pressure, purity or concentration. The aircrew may experience hypoxia either through insufficient oxygen or through exposure to toxic substances, according to the service.
"It was important for me to hear directly from the pilots and share with them all the ongoing efforts to tackle this problem," he wrote. "I have been tracking these events in both the T-45 and F/A-18 fleets, but a recent spike in T-45 events was cause for the Operational Risk Management (ORM) pause the pilots initiated and my directed operational pause that followed."

Shoemaker expects the operational pause will give engineers time to conduct a "deeper dive" into T-45 systems and for service leadership to implement additional mitigation measures that will reduce risk.

"We are seeking input from the pilots and they have shared some innovative ideas that we are evaluating as possible paths forward as we continue to identify the root causes of the PEs," according to Shoemaker. "During the calls, I reinforced the importance of the ORM process, and acknowledged the instructors' concerns and the use of that tool as the mechanism for last Friday's pause."

Inside the Navy reported last month the service has taken 14 actions to mitigate the number of physiological episodes experienced by pilots flying the T-45, F/A-18 and E/A-18G. This includes redesigning internal components of the F/A-18 onboard oxygen generation system to prevent carbon monoxide from reaching the pilot and providing an improved filter, according to Navy testimony to Congress.