Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is demanding answers from the military after her office uncovered a massive spike in crash casualties.
Newly released data from the Department of War shows the number of aircraft-related deaths increased 55% between 2020 and 2024. The Massachusetts senator requested the data last year.
“This loss of life due to mishaps poses an unacceptable risk to service members, their families, and military readiness,” Warren said in a Wednesday news release.
Warren demanded the Pentagon provide summaries of internal military safety reports for the last three years to Congress, in accordance with her amendment to the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which requires the “release of root-causes and safety issues related to accidents.”
The data shared with Warren’s office show that each branch of the military, except the Navy, saw a four-year high in the rate of Class A mishaps per 100,000 flight hours in 2024.
Most notably, the rate of Class A mishaps for the Marines nearly doubled from 1.33 to 3.91 per 100,000. The Army soon followed with a rate increase from 0.76 to 2.02 in the same measurement, and the Air Force from 1.72 to 1.9. The Navy came close, with a rate increase from 1.12 to 1.76 after peaking at 1.98 in 2022.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Warren’s office for comment.
TWO SERVICE MEMBERS KILLED NEAR MEXICAN BORDER IN VEHICLE CRASH
In October, a U.S. Navy Pilot was gravely injured after his ATAC Hawker Hunter crashed off the coast of California. In July, a Navy pilot sustained minor injuries after his F-35 crashed near Naval Air Station Lemoore in California.
Likewise, a military MH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter crashed near the Joint Air Base Lewis McChord in Washington, killing four Army soldiers.
In total, 90 service members have been killed in at least 80 different crashes over the last few years. Critics have attributed the deaths to increased operations, fixed budgets, decreased transparency, and a lack of maintenance.
“The aircraft have to be supported by the maintainers and they have to have the parts, the components, to maintain those aircraft properly,” former Marine pilot and aviation consultant J.F. Joseph told Defense One. “If you don’t staff these aircraft squadrons properly with maintainers, even if you have the parts sitting on the shelf, you can’t fix the airplanes. The cost of doing aviation safely is expensive, it simply is. It’s even more expensive when you’re doing it properly, but it’s a lot more expensive when you’re not.”
It remains unclear if the military has reduced spending for the maintenance of its aircraft.
The Pentagon responded to the concerns in a statement, saying the War Department’s safety oversight council regularly reviews incidents and implements safeguards to “reduce safety risks” to the services.
“We underscore the importance of safety and readiness at every level of the Department, ensuring that we invest in and adopt leading safety practices and foster a strong culture of safety throughout the organization,” a Pentagon official told Defense One.
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Despite the Pentagon’s remarks, families of the deceased service members argue that a transparent explanation of the increase in incidents is necessary.
“The trends we’re seeing remain incredibly concerning, and answers aren’t only owed to the families whose loved ones are represented in these numbers,” a widow of one of the service members who died in an aircraft crash told the outlet. “They’re owed to the service members still flying in these aircraft and to their loved ones. We deserve complete answers and real accountability. We still don’t have either.”
