{"id":58435,"date":"2019-01-05T07:01:46","date_gmt":"2019-01-05T07:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/05\/new-in-2019-heres-what-the-air-force-is-doing-about-aviation-mishaps\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:04:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:04:54","slug":"new-in-2019-heres-what-the-air-force-is-doing-about-aviation-mishaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/01\/05\/new-in-2019-heres-what-the-air-force-is-doing-about-aviation-mishaps\/","title":{"rendered":"New in 2019: Here\u2019s what the Air Force is doing about aviation mishaps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Air Force, like the other services, suffered a string of fatal aviation mishaps in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Military Times in-depth review of 5,500 aviation accidents<\/a> that have occurred since 2013 found that accidents among the nation\u2019s manned fighters, bombers, tankers, tilt-rotor and helicopter aircraft has increased 39 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Air Force<\/a>, the most serious Class A mishaps have declined, but the number of non-fatal Class C mishaps is increasing, causing some experts to warn that future problems could be on the horizon if the issue is not dealt with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To address concerns among the aviation community, Congress created an eight-person independent commission<\/a> to review the mishap spike in the 2019 defense bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For its part, the Air Force conducted a wave of one-day safety stand-downs of flying and maintenance wings over the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein ordered the stand-down in May, after several high-profile mishaps, including the May 2 crash of a WC-130 Hercules<\/a> and the March 15 loss of an HH-60G Pave Hawk<\/a> in western Iraq, both of which killed all on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\t