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T-38s must be inspected before flying again

Air Force T-38 Talons face a mandatory inspection of their wing ailerons before returning to flight.

Late Tuesday, Air Education and Training Command announced the end of the mandatory grounding of its approximately 500 T-38C Talons. The judgment also covers about 50 Talons assigned to other Air Force commands. The planes had been parked since the afternoon of May 1.

However, before each Talon is cleared for flight, the Air Force is mandating a one-time inspection of the jet’s ailerons. These are the outer wing flaps that control the jet’s roll to the left or right.

A witness to one of the crashes leading to the stand down reported the T-38C was rolling over prior to crashing as it tried to take off April 23 from Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.

The decision by AETC commander Gen. William Looney came after “initial findings” of investigations into the April 23 and May 1 fatal crashes of T-38Cs indicated the causes of the accidents were not related. Prior to the two fatal crashes that claimed the lives of two instructor pilots and two students, the there had not been a fatal Talon accident since 2003.

The T-38C is a two-engine, supersonic trainer flown by pilots selected for assignments to fighters and B-1B Lancer bombers. The Air Force has flown Talons since 1961.

The April 23 crashed involved a jet that was taking off, while the May 1 accident came as jet was approaching a runway for touch and go landings.

Killed in the May 1 crash at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas were instructor pilot Maj. Brad Funk and student pilot 2nd Lt. Alec Littler. Both were assigned to Sheppard’s 80th Flying Training Wing and the 90th Flying Training Squadron. Prior to fly T-38s, Funk had flown F-15 Eagles. Littler earned his commission through the ROTC program at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Lost in the April 23 accident at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., were Maj. Blair Faulkner, 43rd Flying Training Squadron instructor pilot, and 2nd Lt. Matthew Emmons, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training class 08-14.

Related reading:

T-38 grounded after fatal crashes