{"id":45930,"date":"2018-04-12T17:23:34","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T17:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/12\/mattis-on-aviation-accidents-we-cannot-repair-our-way-out\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:39:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:39:43","slug":"mattis-on-aviation-accidents-we-cannot-repair-our-way-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/04\/12\/mattis-on-aviation-accidents-we-cannot-repair-our-way-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Mattis on aviation accidents: \u2018We cannot repair our way out\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned Congress that the deep cuts to pilot hours and lack of ready aircraft that are partly to blame will not find a quick fix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

In congressional testimony partly driven by Military Times\u2019 recent investigation<\/a> into a 40 percent rise in aviation accidents, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned Congress that the deep cuts to pilot hours and lack of ready aircraft that are partly to blame will not find a quick fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot repair our way out of the situation we are in,\u201d Mattis told members of the House Armed Services Committee Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re actually going to have to buy, in some cases, the capabilities we have simply worn out and had to set aside and can\u2019t even be repaired, whether it be aircraft where squadrons do not have enough, or it be ships that cannot go back to sea on time, because when we open them up, long overdue for their maintenance period, we find things wrong inside that lengthen their time in the shipyard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n