What's Behind the Stark Rise in U.S. Military Accidents?
Collisions at sea and aviation accidents point to an overtaxed force.
By Kyle Mizokami
Apr 10, 2018
The U.S. military has experienced a rash of military accidents in the air and at sea, with aircraft-related crashes up nearly 40 percent since 2013. From destroyers colliding with commercial vessels in the Western Pacific to a downed Harrier jump jet in Djibouti, the last several months have seen several highly publicized accidents, many of which involved fatalities. At least one investigation has correlated the rise in accidents with a defense budget cuts.
According to an investigation by Military Times, accidents involving manned military aircraft rose nearly 40 percent between 2013 and 2017. In the last three weeks alone, six military accidents have killed 16 people. Between 2013 and 2017, 133 were killed in accidents. The latest incident involved the crash of an Apache Guardian attack helicopter at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Both pilots were killed.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a19735282/us-military-accidents-plane-helicopter-crash-navy-army/