US Naval Training Aircraft Crashes in Texas, No Injuries Reported

A U.S. Navy fighter jet approaches to land on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt about 152 miles off the eastern coast of Chennai, India, on Oct. 17, 2015. (Arun Sankar K./AP Photo)

A U.S. naval training exercise ended in a crash Tuesday as an instructor pilot was approaching a Texas air station, Navy officials said.

The pilot was flying a T–45 Goshawk and approaching Naval Air Station (NAS) Kingsville at about noon on Aug. 16.

“The aircraft went down in an empty field just north of the airfield. The pilot ejected and there are no reports of injuries at this time. Emergency personnel are on site,” NAS Kingsville reported in an Aug. 16 Facebook post.

An update provided by the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) states that the instructor pilot who ejected from the aircraft prior to the crash was taken to Christus Spohn Hospital–Kleberg for evaluation. The pilot was conducting a routine training flight when the mishap took place.

The Kingsville Sheriff’s Office and the NAS Kingsville emergency services responded to the scene. No civilians were harmed in the accident, and the crash is being investigated, CNATRA said in another Facebook post.

The accident follows two other crashes involving T–45s at NAS Kingsville in 2021. In May 2021, two T–45 aircraft collided in midair 9 miles south of NAS Kingsville. One of the jets recovered back to its base, but the second jet crashed. An instructor and a student pilot safely ejected before the crash.

Then in September 2021, a T–45 crashed into a residential area in Lake Worth, Texas. An instructor and a student pilot ejected before the crash, but the student became entangled in the power lines below. He experienced an electric shock and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, ABC News reported. Both pilots survived and were treated at a nearby hospital, but three homes were damaged in the crash.

The Aircraft

The T–45 Goshawk is a U.S. Navy version of the land-based BAE Systems Hawk. The Navy uses it as a carrier-borne trainer. BAE Systems jointly produces the Goshawk with McDonnell Douglas, a subsidiary of Boeing.

In total, the U.S. military has purchased 221 T–45 Goshawks from Boeing over the years. The last Goshawk was delivered in 2009.

In July, the Navy grounded a number of aircraft after discovering faulty parts in the ejection seats. The T-45 Goshawks were among the models assessed to be faulty.