House Armed Services Committee Seeks More Info from Navy on T-45

The House Armed Services Committee wants more information from the Navy as part of its ongoing investigation into problems with T-45 Goshawk training aircraft used by Pensacola Naval Air Station and Navy bases in Mississippi and Texas.

In a letter to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, the committee requested the schedule of all tests and evaluations of equipment associated with the T-45. The letter, dated Friday, also requested the location of the testing, frequency of the testing and the Navy's actions in response to test results.

"We require additional information as to how the Navy is assessing the on-board oxygen generating systems used in the T-45 fleet, as well as ... additional information regarding the engineering testing and analysis being conducted by the Navy at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland," the letter, provided to the Pensacola News Journal by U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, states.

Gaetz, a member of the committee, has criticized Pentagon leaders for a slow response after pilots reported episodes of sudden-onset hypoxia while flying the T-45.