AF grounds T-6s at NAS Pensacola

The Air Force has grounded training flights at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., due to unexplained physiological events (UPE) related to the lack of oxygen getting to pilots while flying the same T-6 Texan IIA as Columbus (Miss.) Air Force Base, Vance AFB in Oklahoma, and Sheppard AFB in Texas, according to Randy Martin, a spokesperson for the San Antonio-based 12th Flying Squadron. The AF uses the aircraft to train combat systems officers as part of the 479th Fighter Group located adjacent to Sherman Field on NAS Pensacola. The fighter group has 22 of the T-6 aircraft. In early February, the AF grounded its entire fleet of T-6 Texan IIA after reports of pilots experiencing hypoxia due to the lack of significant oxygen in flight. NAS Whiting Field, Fla., which provides primary flight training for 60 percent of all Coast Guard, Marine, and Navy pilots, flies a different version of the T-6. Whiting officials have said pilots flying its variant have not experienced UPEs. However, the Navy did temporarily grounded its fleet of T-45C Goshawk trainers in April when some instructor pilots, including those in Pensacola and Meridian, Miss., refused to fly after experiencing in-flight hypoxia. The Navy has developed a series of workarounds involving the planes' on-board oxygen generating system to allow pilots to continue flying. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 02/08/17)