In a dangerous trend, military aircraft mishaps in the US have jumped by over 55% in the last four years, resulting in the death of 90 service members, destruction of nearly 90 aircraft, and a loss of over USD 9 billion, according to new Pentagon data, which has alarmed the US lawmakers and defense analysts.
The data from the Department of Defense (DoD) was released by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on November 19, and it covers the period from 2020 to 2024.
The worrying rise in military aircraft mishaps has led to demands by US lawmakers and family members of servicemen for more transparency on the part of the Pentagon and a push to include provisions in the defense policy bill that will force the DoD to release summaries of internal military safety reports for the last three years to Congress.
The new data reveals a concerning rise in Class A mishaps, the most serious category of accidents, which result in damage of at least US$2.5 million, destroyed aircraft, or fatalities or permanent total disabilities.
The rate of Class A mishaps rose from 1.30 mishaps per 100,000 flight hours in 2020 to 2.02 mishaps per 100,000 flight hours in 2024, a striking 55 percent increase.
In total, there were 4,280 mishaps of Class A, B, C, D, and E categories between 2020 and 2024.
These mishaps cost the military US$9.4 billion, killed 90 service members and DoD civilian employees, and destroyed 89 aircraft between 2020 and 2024.
“These accident rates are incredibly troubling and demand action. The reforms I’ve secured in the NDAA are desperately needed so Congress can understand the root causes of these accidents to save service member lives,” said Senator Warren.
Each service except the US Navy saw the rate of Class A mishaps per 100,000 flight hours hit a four-year high in 2024.
For the US Marines, the rate of Class A mishaps nearly tripled from 1.33 to 3.91.
The US Army’s rate of Class A mishaps also more than doubled from 0.76 to 2.02.
Similarly, for the US Air Force, the rate of Class A mishaps jumped from 1.72 to 1.9, and for the US Navy, it rose from 1.12 to 1.76, after peaking at 1.98 in 2022.
The data highlights the growing rate of military aircraft mishaps across all four services.
In fact, according to records, FY2024 was one of the worst years for aviation safety for the US Army in a decade.
Financial Year 2024 will be a year that Army Aviation looks back on in hopes of “never repeating.” According to statistics from the Aviation Division of the Directorate of Analysis and Prevention at the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, there was a “steady decline in mishap rates per 100,000 hours beginning in 2006.”
However, the trend reversed in the last four years. Since 2020, the rate of military aircraft mishaps has steadily increased, peaking in 2024.
According to Senator Warren’s press release, the increase in these mishap rates appears to be part of a longer-term trend.
In 2018, the Navy found that Class C mishap rates in naval aviation had doubled in the past decade. That same year, the Air Force’s overall aviation mishap rate hit a seven-year high.
In 2022, 48 Marines died in aviation mishaps, prompting the then-Acting Commandant to order a review of the Marines’ “culture of safety.” In 2024, the Air Force announced it had lost 47 airmen through preventable mishaps in just one year.
“This loss of life due to mishaps poses an unacceptable risk to service members, their families, and military readiness,” said Senator Warren.
The rising rate of military aircraft mishaps is also causing losses of billions of dollars to the US exchequer.
The new Pentagon data reveals that the cost of Class A mishaps rose significantly from FY2022 to FY2023, from US$1.6 billion to US$2.9 billion. In just the first half of 2024, Class A mishaps cost the military US$1.7 billion.
The statistics cover the full budget years 2020-2023, and the first 10 months of the 2024 budget year through July 31. In those 10 months of last year, 25 service members and Defense Department civilian employees were killed, and 14 aircraft were destroyed.
In all likelihood, this disturbing trend will continue in 2025 as well. So far this year, the Navy has lost four F/A-18Fs to mishaps, one of which costs approximately US$60 million.
In April and May this year, the US Navy’s USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier lost two F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets in the span of a few weeks — one to a bad landing and another slipped off the deck of the ship and fell into the sea.
Earlier in December 2024, another Super Hornet was shot down by the US missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (part of the Truman carrier strike group) in a case of friendly fire.
Furthermore, in January this year, a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet collided in Washington DC, killing 67 people.
Earlier this week, Senator Warren wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, asking for Class A-mishap data for the rest of 2024 and 2025 to be released as well.
U.S. Military’s Most Mishap-Prone Aircraft?
According to Pentagon data, the H-60 helicopter has the highest mishap rate among US military aircraft. It was involved in 23 incidents per 100,000 flight hours.
The “H-60” is a family of versatile military helicopters developed by Sikorsky, based on the UH-60 Black Hawk.
However, since the Pentagon data includes incidents only through July 2024, the fatal Black Hawk collision with an American Airlines passenger jet in January this year was not included.
The probe report found that the helicopter’s altimeter was broken and might have provided inaccurate readings, and that the pilots may not have heard some communications from the Reagan National Airport control tower.
Furthermore, in September this year, four U.S. Army soldiers who were part of an elite team that does nighttime missions died when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed near a military base in Washington state.
Notably, the high mishap rate of Black Hawks is also impacting its foreign sales prospects.
In August this year, the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) reportedly cancelled the purchase of four UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters worth around RM187 million (US$44.2 million), following criticism from the country’s monarch, Yang di-Pertuan Agong – Sultan Ibrahim ibni Sultan Iskandar.
The decision came a day after Kuala Lumpur’s monarch called the three-decade-old systems “flying coffins”.
The H-60 helicopter was followed by the F-18/A Super Hornet fighter jet and C-17 transport plane, both with 21 incidents per 100,000 flight hours.
However, in terms of fatalities, the V-22 Osprey, which flies like a plane but converts to land like a helicopter, has been among the most dangerous aircraft. More than one-fifth of the 90 deaths mentioned in the Pentagon report occurred in variants of the V-22 Osprey.
The V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft was involved in four crashes resulting in 20 servicemember deaths since 2022.
In view of the rising rate of military aircraft mishaps, US Congress members are now demanding greater transparency from the Pentagon.
Senators Warren and Dan Sullivan secured language in the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that requires the Joint Safety Council to provide Congress with executive summaries of safety investigation board (SIB) reports conducted over the past three years, along with any corrective actions taken.
The SIB reports identify root factors and safety issues that contributed to the accident.
“In the face of increasing rates of costly and deadly aviation mishaps, it is critical that Congress and DoD take all necessary action to address this problem,” said Senator Warren.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from The University of Sheffield, UK.
- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
