THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290318
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE TAYLOR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
The Navy's retiring senior pilot said Wednesday that the safety record of sea service aviation, despite several recent crashes of F-14 Tomcats, has improved dramatically since he began flying.
In 1959, when Rear Adm. David R. Morris got his wings in an F-8 Crusader, the Navy had 461 major accidents, 39 fatalities and 13.2 flying incidents per 100,000 hours, Morris said.
Last year, there were 34 major accidents, 17 fatalities and 2.1 incidents per 100,000 hours.
``Accidents and fatalities were common in those days,'' Morris told an audience aboard the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis.
The dignitaries were attending a ceremony to mark the passing of the Navy's Gray Eagle title. The Gray Eagle is the active duty officer with the earliest designation as a Navy pilot.
Morris, who is retiring after almost 39 years in the Navy, turned over the title to Vice Adm. Walter J. Davis Jr., the Navy's director of space and electronic warfare.
Davis became a pilot in December 1960. He said an instructor told him then to look around the room at his fellow trainees, because only one of them would still be alive in 25 years.
That prediction turned out wrong because of safety improvements as military aircraft became more technologically sophisticated, said Davis, who flew F-4 Phantoms in Vietnam and later commanded an F-14 squadron.
Last week, F-14 flights were halted for three days after three California-based jets crashed within a month. Crews also were ordered to undergo refresher training before returning to the air.
Navy pilots already receive extensive training that makes it possible to fly under the most hazardous conditions, at all hours and in all weather, and land on a rolling carrier deck at sea, Morris and Davis said.
``It's a demanding environment we put these people in,'' Davis said. ``Sometimes the lessons are brutal.''
But the Navy has high expectations of combat pilots, he said.
``You don't want me to just go out, take off, cruise and land,'' he said.
Morris said the Navy can't afford to lose fliers whose training costs up to $4 million or the $35 million machines they operate.
But he said naval aviation needs to preserve a place for risk-takers who don't do everything by the book. History has demonstrated that unconventional leaders are those who win big, he said. by CNB