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Military prepares for air stand down
Air Force celebrates 50th anniversary
September 18, 1997
Web posted at: 1:09 p.m. EDT (1709 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Air Force is celebrating its 50th anniversary Thursday with many of its aircraft about to be grounded temporarily because of safety concerns. Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall said Pentagon orders to halt all training flights for one day would be carried out some time in the next week.
The action -- which applies to the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy -- is in response to five recent military air crashes. The accidents, which occurred in a four-day period, led to the deaths of 11 Americans.
The Air Force was involved in three of the five crashes.
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"There is no common thread, but that doesn't mean we are not concerned," Widnall told CNN. "(The stand-down) will give units a chance to examine their training," she said in a live interview on Thursday.
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In one of the recent crashes, a Marine Corps F/A-18 went down in North Carolina on Monday during a practice bombing run. The two crewmen killed were based at Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 224 in Beaufort, South Carolina, where a memorial service is planned for Friday.
Lt. Col. John DeWhitt at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort calls the stand-down an opportunity to learn more about the "performance capabilities" of warplanes.
"We don't like to think about things like that (Monday's crash) while we're doing the mission. We have to put it away and fly the jet. Once you are back on the ground, you can contemplate what has happened," he told CNN in a live interview on Thursday.
On Thursday, a ceremony was held in Arlington National Cemetery to mark the Air Force anniversary, and a "missing man" formation flew past to commemorate those who have died while serving in that branch of the military.
The Air Force was established as a separate branch of the service in 1947. Prior to that, it was the Army Air Corps
Correspondents Jamie McIntyre and Brian Cabell contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Military to suspend flights temporarily as safety measure - September 17, 1997
- Aviation safety a long-standing military concern - September 17, 1997
- 1st body found from plane crash off African coast - September 15, 1997
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