Military aviation safety concerns

A team of retired generals and other top military aviation experts is traveling the world to check in with aviation units throughout the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as their Reserve and National Guard components, on a mission to help the Defense Department solve some of its glaring issues with the readiness of its aircraft and aircrews. As the death toll from helicopter and plane crashes hit a six-year high in 2018, Congress responded by ordering a top-to-bottom review of aircraft mishaps from 2013 to 2018, charging the National Commission on Military Aviation Safety to investigate, crunch numbers and come back with some answers. In the past few months, NCMAS chairman retired Army Gen. Dick Cody, commissioners have made 70 site visits around the country. The feedback collected from pilots and maintainers on the ground will be compared and contrasted with a trove of information they’re collecting from the services on their Class A, B and C mishaps. Think-tank studies have largely focused on Class A’s, due to their costliness. Cody said the commission plans to dig into all categories, with particular attention to C’s. Despite mishaps, the commission has a laundry list of issue it wants to investigate: Pilot retention; training pipelines; operational tempo and how it wears on aircraft maintenance and crews; physiological events, which have plagued training/fighter jet communities (including T-45 pilots and NAS Meridian); and budgets and continuing resolutions, and how they affect maintenance capacity and flight hours. Service members can anonymously submit their own tips on the commission’s website. The commission’s report is technically due in March, but they’ve asked for an eight-month extension. (Source: Millitary Times 10/21/19) https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2019/10/21/this-commission-wants-to-hear-your-uncensored-concerns-about-military-aviation-safety/