Defense

Navy announces ‘safety pause’ in wake of aircraft crashes

The U.S. Navy will pause all non-deployed aircraft units on Monday to conduct a safety screening in the wake of multiple recent aircraft crashes, according to an announcement over the weekend. 

The “safety pause” announced on Saturday is intended “to review risk-management practices and conduct training on threat and error-management processes.”

“In order to maintain the readiness of our force, we must ensure the safety of our people remains one of our top priorities,” the Navy added. 

The pause comes following three crashes in June, two of which were fatal.

One Navy pilot died in a crash in California roughly 170 miles northeast of Los Angeles during a June 3 training mission involving a F/A-18E Super Hornet.

On June 8, five Marines were killed after another plane, an MV-22B Osprey, crashed in California east of San Diego. 

And on June 9, a crash involving an MH-60S Seahawk crashed during a routine training flight in California. All four crew members survived that crash, the Navy said.

All three crashes are still under investigation. 

Cmdr. Zach Harrell, a San Diego-based Naval Air Forces spokesperson, told The New York Times there has not been evidence connecting the three crashes thus far. 

“If there’s anything that comes out of the investigation that determines there’s a link, that will be addressed immediately,” Harrell told the newspaper.