{"id":89916,"date":"2018-05-06T18:43:32","date_gmt":"2018-05-06T18:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/06\/as-fatal-aviation-crashes-reach-6-year-high-pentagon-says-this-is-not-a-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:23:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:23:01","slug":"as-fatal-aviation-crashes-reach-6-year-high-pentagon-says-this-is-not-a-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2018\/05\/06\/as-fatal-aviation-crashes-reach-6-year-high-pentagon-says-this-is-not-a-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"As fatal aviation crashes reach 6-year high, Pentagon says \u2018this is not a crisis\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/atype-video-jwplayer>
A memorial ceremony honoring the 156th Airlift Wing aviators from Puerto Rico Air National Guard who died in the crash of a WC-130H cargo plane in Savannah, Ga.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Fatal military aviation accidents<\/a> have reached a six-year high, in both the number of accidents <\/a>and the number of pilots and crews killed, a Military Times investigation<\/a> has found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, 12 fatal accidents \u2014 11 crashes and one ground incident \u2014 in fiscal year 2018, which began Oct. 1, have claimed the lives of 35 military pilots and crew. It\u2019s the highest number of crashes in years, and the total number of deaths so far this year ties 2016\u2019s deadly year, when 35 aviators were also killed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are still four months to go in fiscal 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week\u2019s horrific crash of a Puerto Rico Air National Guard WC-130<\/a> brought the state of military aviation back into sharp focus. The plane\u2019s fall from the sky was caught on video; all nine airmen aboard were killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next 24 hours, in media briefings with reporters at the Pentagon, senior leaders downplayed the rash of accidents, calling each unique and not indicative of a trend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not a crisis. But it is a crisis for each of these families,\u201d Pentagon Press Secretary Dana White said Thursday. \u201cAnd we owe them a full investigation, and to understand what\u2019s going on. But these are across services, and these are different individuals and different circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day before, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer had roughly the same response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe look at the five-year average, we\u2019re not out of the norm at all,\u201d Spencer said of the Navy\u2019s accidents<\/a>. at an unrelated media briefing just hours after the crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s that type of messaging that seeds doubt in current military pilots\u2019 minds that Pentagon leadership is really aware of how bad the problem is \u2014 and that it\u2019s one of the reasons they are leaving military service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen this many accidents in a long, long time,\u201d said one C-17 instructor pilot who asked not to be identified. \u201cEven my civilian friends are starting to notice it. That\u2019s kind of a wake up call.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fiscal Year<\/th>Total Fatal Class A Mishaps<\/th>Total Deaths<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
2013<\/td>10<\/td>23<\/td><\/tr>
2014<\/td>9<\/td>15<\/td><\/tr>
2015<\/td>9<\/td>27<\/td><\/tr>
2016<\/td>9<\/td>35<\/td><\/tr>
2017<\/td>9<\/td>33<\/td><\/tr>
2018<\/td>12<\/td>35<\/td><\/tr>
Totals<\/td>58<\/td>168<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An investigation last month by Military Times found that military aviation accidents across the military\u2019s manned bombers, fighters, cargo planes, helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft had jumped 39 percent<\/a> since the automatic budget cuts of 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of those accidents were Class Cs, the more minor incidents that either result in injury that leads to lost work days, or cost between $50,000 and $500,000 to fix.<\/p>\n\n\n