FIVE CRASHES AND TWO PILOT DEATHS RESULT IN STAND-DOWN OF MARINE JETS

The Marines have ordered a stand-down of all non-deployed jets following a series of crashes. Captain Sarah Burns, a spokesman for the Marines said, “The pause will last one day within the next seven to allow units to “discuss best practices and to look at ways to continue to improve.” The stand-down comes after another Marine F/A-18C jet crashed Tuesday near Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada. The Navy pilot ejected prior to the crash, sustaining minor injuries. That crash followed one July 28 when Marine Corps pilot Major Richard Norton was killed when the F/A-18C fighter jet that he was flying crashed near Twentynine Palms during night-time training. In June, a fatal crash of a Hornet during a Blue Angels practice flight killed Marine Captain Jeff Kuss, and two upgraded Super Hornet variants of the F/A-18 collided in May during a training mission off the coast of North Carolina. In all, five F/A-18s have been lost and two pilots killed in four crashes since May. The string of crashes has called into question whether the service is taking too much risk in worn aircraft and non-deployed pilots who are only flight training about 10 hours each month. Pilots are supposed to train in aircraft at least 16 hours monthly. The crashes and 15 years of war have taken a toll on the Marines’ aircraft. The service has 85 F/A-18s available now for training, but it requires 171, Burns said. The Marines are struggling with all their aircraft, including the MV-22 Osprey and the CH-53E Super Stallion. They have 438 combat-ready aircraft in the service, Burns said, but require 1,065 to conduct all their operations around the globe.