The reason why American fighter planes continuously crash into each other

Two F/A-18 fighters of the US Navy.

On May 26, during a regular training exercise, two US Navy F/A-18 fighters crashed into each other and crashed off the coast of North Carolina.

David Ax, military analyst for the Daily Beast, commented that in most collisions in the past 10 years, the main cause was unavoidable incidents during intense combat training.

Loss of situational awareness

Although stealth technologies and long-range precision guided missiles have flourished, close-range dogfights are still an important part of US military training.

`As pilots, we are all trained that paying attention to every little detail is important. However, balancing the small details with the big picture can often take pilots away.`

Loss of situational awareness was the cause of a mid-air collision between two US Air Force F-16 fighters while flying off the coast of Maryland in August 2013.

Investigators later concluded that this incident was caused by both, when the pilot flying in front `did not pay attention to the communication channel` and `wrongly prioritized the execution of the mission`, the pilot

James Lockridge, a pilot with more than 50 years of flying experience, believes that pilots cannot be blamed because they are forced to cover a 360-degree range, while their visibility is limited due to blind spots under the cabin floor

America’s 5th generation F-35 stealth fighter cannot escape the same situation when the pilot’s visibility is very limited due to the narrow cockpit, especially when the pilot has to wear a high-tech helmet to fly.

In a simulated dogfight situation in early 2015, the F-35 test pilot found it difficult to observe the `opponent aircraft` when turning at a tight angle.

The cockpit of the F/A-18 fighter.

Pilot skills

However, collisions still occur when the pilot’s vision is not obstructed.

In that incident, two F-15 fighter jets crashed into each other, killing one pilot.

Intense aerial combat training requires mastery of skills.

Any interruption in training could erode pilot proficiency and make intense simulated combat practice dangerous and lead to incidents.

The incident that occurred over the Gulf of Mexico was due to the pilots being temporarily suspended from training after the ban on F-15 takeoff due to the incident of a fighter jet breaking up in November 2007.

It is still impossible to confirm whether the pilot’s lack of skill was the main reason why two F/A-18 fighters collided on May 26, but lawmakers and senior US Navy officials

Mac Thomberry, chairman of the US House Armed Services Committee, cited in March that the rate of serious incidents with US military helicopters increased from 1.52 per 100,000 flight hours in 2014 to 1.99 in 2016.

Gen. Robert Neller, the senior commanding officer of the Marine Corps, said his squadrons do not have enough aircraft to meet the training needs of the entire force.

`Inadequately trained pilots and faulty equipment are a disaster. This may have contributed to the recent mid-air collision,` an official of the House Armed Services Committee confirmed.

See more: Why do Russian and Chinese fighters constantly approach American aircraft?