Navy working to fix the problem

By Staff
Feb. 23, 2003
Officials at Naval Air Station Meridian and elsewhere are working extremely hard to pinpoint and fix a problem with their primary student aviator training jet, the T-2C Buckeye. Thousands of the Navy's strike attack pilots over the years have trained in the plane, earning their "Wings of Gold" by becoming carrier qualified and going on to distinguished service in the military.
Even though grounding the fleet of T-2s has set back an already intensive training program that functions under tight time constraints, the Navy took the right action by issuing what it calls a "red stripe." The action will keep the jets on the ground until the nature of the problem can be identified and repaired. Experts will, hopefully soon, find out whether a malfunctioning wing flap is an isolated problem, or whether it is more extensive.
Our hunch is that the student pilots at NAS and their outstanding leaders like Capt. Jeff Dickman, base commander; Capt. Mark Needler, commander of Training Air Wing 1; and Chuck Aley, commanding officer of the training squadron are itching for the planes to get back in the air. So they can get back to the serious business at hand.
We have every confidence that the jets will be back in service soon.