WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The United States Air Force has ordered its aircraft to stand down for one day for a safety review after a string of deadly aircraft crashes.
Some aircraft might be exempted from the pause in flights, such as those carrying out strikes in Iraq and Syria, said Major General John Rauch, the Air Force’s chief of safety.
The operational pause comes after a Puerto Rico Air National Guard cargo plane crashed near Savannah, Georgia, scattering fiery debris over a highway and railroad tracks, and killing all nine people aboard.
The crash was at least the fifth deadly accident involving a U.S. military aircraft since early April.
According to Air Force data, there has been a 48-per-cent increase in the rate of aircraft crashes in fiscal year 2018 where someone was killed, permanently disabled or that caused over $2 million in damages.
