NASM crash comment ‘speculation’

The cause of a Meridian, Miss., Naval Air Station-based T-45 Goshawk training-jet crash Sept. 7 has not been determined despite a comment from a local ambulance company director that may have suggested pilot error. The Training Air Wing 1 aircraft crashed in a heavily wooded while on a training flight. "They hit the wrong button and were ejected," Metro Ambulance director Clayton Cobler told local media. But Chief of Naval Air Training Public Affairs Officer Lt.j.g. Elizabeth Feaster called Cobler’s statement merely "speculation." "We don't know what happened yet,” she said. An investigation to determine the cause has already begun. Both pilots were transported to local hospitals, but there injuries were not life-threatening. Meridian NAS is the site of advanced jet training for Navy and Marine Corps pilots. Primary naval aviation training is conducted at Whiting Field NAS, Fla.(Source: Clarion-Ledger 09/08/16)