New O2 system for T-45Cs

WASHINGTON - The Navy will equip all of its T-45C training jets with new oxygen-level monitoring systems by February, according to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). There have been a number of physiological episodes (PEs) of pilots feeling dangerously short of oxygen while flying, which caused the Navy to ground the jets while researchers evaluated the oxygen system. The Navy has already upgraded some of its T-45C Goshawks with the CRU-123, a digital version of the current CRU-99 oxygen monitor. Wicker’s announcement Dec. 13 was the first time a target date has been disclosed. The Goshawks are used for pilot training at Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss.; NAS Pensacola, Fla.; and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. This upgrade “should help alert pilots to dangerous declines in oxygen production or pressure levels,” said Wicker in a news release outlining multiple new steps taken by the Navy to alleviate growing concerns about PEs. The Navy has grounded any T-45C that “lacks the full collection of modifications,” Wicker added. The Navy is also developing an automatic backup oxygen system scheduled for future installation across the T-45 fleet. The Navy has conducted a comprehensive review of the PE problem, but the root cause remains elusive. In October, a T-45C based out of NAS Meridian crashed in Tennessee killing both the instructor and student-pilot. It is still not known whether oxygen deprivation or contamination contributed to the crash, but has made finding a solution urgent. Additionally, pilots of F/A-18s, F/A-18E/Fs, and E/A-18Gs have also reported an increased number of PEs. The just-signed 2018 National Defense Authorization Act allows the Pentagon to authorize a competition, with a prize of up to $10M, to whoever can isolate the root cause(s) of the services’ PE issues. (Source: Defense News 12/13/17)