Navy Calls For ‘Safety Pause' In Wake Of 2 Imperial County Training Crashes

By Editor, Times of San Diego

June 12, 2022

As a result of two crashes, one fatal, involving U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, the Navy on Saturday announced a “safety pause” to assess operations.

Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, Commander, Naval Air Forces, directed all non-deployed Navy aviation units on Monday to begin a review of risk-management practices and conduct training on “threat and error-management processes.”

“In order to maintain the readiness of our force, we must ensure the safety of our people remains one of our top priorities,” according to a statement by the command.

Deployed units, the command said, will conduct the safety pause at the earliest possible opportunity.

The pause takes place in the wake of the two crashes, both in Imperial County.

Five Camp Pendleton-based Marines, including Capt. John J. Sax, the son of former Los Angeles Dodger Steve Sax, died Wednesday in a MV-22B Osprey accident near the community of Glamis.

A day later, near Blythe, around 40 miles east of where the Osprey went down, a MH-60S Seahawk helicopter based at Naval Air Station North Island crashed. One of the four crew members suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.