The report also said that the investigation shows that such out-of-bounds flights and unauthorized training had become part of culture in the VT-7, but also throughout all the Navy’s tactical jet training, which investigators called a “failure of leadership.
Bynum also said it was questionable that Ruth was even qualified to fly the T-45C or teach the low-level maneuvers, because there was no record he’d completed the requisite training in the T-45C
The former VT-7 skipper has retired. Will CNATRA (Rear Adm. Bynum) step down as well?
I'd be hard pressed to think of a case, civilian or military in the big leagues, where an instructor was never trained on an aircraft (s)he instructed on. There have been cases of missing signatures in a file and the like.
Was the instructor training done but not properly documented? Or, were things 'pencil-whipped' to expedite Lt. Ruth's qualification as a T-45C instructor?
I believe the Navy fires more skippers than the rest of the services combined. I would think some heads should roll if the facts are as presented in the article.
Anybody find a link to the actual accident report? Often these are published on an obscure military air safety database with a media release at happy hour on Friday afternoon.