The U.S. Air Force grounded its entire T-38 Talon fleet on May 19, one week after a training aircraft from Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi crashed in rural Alabama. Both crew members, including a reported Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) trainee, safely ejected from the aircraft.
The Air Force announced a “fleet-wide operational pause,” citing the need to support the investigation and ensure the “continued safety of Air Force personnel and equipment.” The halt covers Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Air Combat Command (ACC), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), and Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). Aircrews will use simulators until individual aircraft pass inspection.
The May 12 mishap occurred near the Fayette-Lamar County line in west Alabama at approximately noon. Both pilots from the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus Air Force Base ejected safely and were released from North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo the same evening. A Safety Investigation Board is examining the incident.
Japanese outlet Mainichi Shimbun reported one pilot as a JASDF second lieutenant in his 20s assigned to Hamamatsu Air Base who suffered a broken leg. The U.S. Air Force has not confirmed these details. Around 20 JASDF personnel are currently undergoing fighter pilot training in the United States.
The crash is not the first to involve a JASDF trainee at Columbus Air Force Base. A February 2021 T-38 mishap near Montgomery, Alabama, killed both a JASDF second lieutenant and a U.S. instructor pilot from the same unit. An Air Force Accident Investigation Board found that pilot errors by both crew members caused that crash.
The T-38 has been in service since 1961. The Air Force approved the T-7A Red Hawk for low-rate initial production in April, awarding Boeing a $219 million contract for 14 aircraft, with initial operational capability expected in 2028.
