The US Navy has put its fleet of T-45C Goshawk trainer aircraft on a safety pause for the review of an engine blade fault.
The Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) ordered the pause in flights for the Navy and Marine Corps’ T-45Cs on October 14.
“Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of our aviators, CNATRA made the decision to halt all T-45C Goshawk operations following the discovery of an engine blade failure,” said CNATRA Rear Adm. Richard Brophy.
“We are working with our partners toward a swift resolution. Safety is at the core of our operations, and we must not expose our pilots or aircraft to unnecessary risk.”
The service is working with Rolls Royce to identify the root cause of the recent T-45 engine blade failure, according to Rear Adm. John Lemmon, Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft Programs (PEO(T)).
“Engineering analysis has been underway and will continue until we can safely return the T-45 fleet to a flying status to support CNATRA’s training,” RADM Lemmon said.
The navy ordered the safety pause following at least four major accidents involving T-45s over the past year. One of the crashes was caused by a hydraulic system failure, according to a report from Navy Times.
