US Navy suspends flights of T-45 training jets due to engine failures

The United States Navy</a> has grounded its T-45 Goshawk training jets after one of the aircraft suffered an engine failure in flight last Friday (12).</p> In a statement to the USNI News portal</a> ,</em> the US Navy's Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) confirmed that the planes were grounded and that he is evaluating &#8220;the fleet's ability to safely resume flight.&#8221;</em> The order came after a T-45C from Training Air Wing One suffered an engine malfunction during flight. The crew – normally composed of a student and an instructor – &#8220;performed a precautionary landing at Hesler-Noble Field in Laurel, Mississippi.</em> No one was injured and the Navy is assessing the damage to the jet's engine. </p> Developed from the British BAE Hawk jet trainer, the T-8221 Goshawk is the main training platform for the United States Naval Aviation. The model entered service in 45, replacing the T-1991 Buckeye and TA-2 Skyhawk in training new naval aviators. The model, however, has presented problems</a> and has been the cause of accidents</a>, some fatal. </p> According to the USNI, this latest in-flight failure was related to a blade failure in the F4 engine, manufactured by Rolls Royce. The &#200;grounding&#45; of the jets also occurs as the US Navy searches for a replacement for the T-45. The companies Textron/Leonardo and Lockheed Martin/KAI have already offered the M405 and the T-8216 for the role. Boeing is also expected to offer a navalized version of the T-8217 Red Hawk, the model that beat out the M45 and T-346 in the U.S. Air Force's bid for a new trainer jet.</p>