The Air Force said Tuesday it is ordering a safety review of all its aviation units after increases in deadly mishaps, including the fiery crash o f a C-130 Hercules cargo plane last week that killed nine troops.
The review will reinforce safety measures across the Air Force, but so far, the service has found no systemic causes for aviation mishaps that have killed 18 airmen since last fall, Maj. Gen. John Rauch, the Air Force chief of safety, told reporters at the Pentagon.
“Really, a cluster of these mishaps together is what brought them to say hey, let’s look at this,” Rauch said. “In each one of those, there could be common themes across, which we are not seeing, but otherwise, they are really not related to each other.”
House lawmakers have called for hearings and proposed a national commission to delve into the spike in crashes, which has persisted for years and affected other military service branches as well.
But the Pentagon has pointedly denied any “crisis” in its aircraft programs and brushed aside questions of a department-wide review.
The Air Force review requires commanders to choose a day and complete the safety review by May 21 for active-duty wings. It will ground many units for 24 hours, but units such as those involved in combat operations will be given some flexibility to stay in the air, Rauch said.
“Really, the intent is to give wing commanders and the organizations the time to step back and assess one day of non-flying … to identify gaps and seams that exist or are developing that may lead to future mishaps or unsafe conditions for our airmen,” he said.
