The Air Force finally is scrapping its remaining 110 T-3A Firefly training aircraft that the service suspended in 1997 following a series of accidents that killed six people over a period of three years. The Air Force bought the aircraft to replace the T-41 and began using them in 1993. USAF formally grounded the British-made aircraft in 1999, following failed attempts to ensure their airworthiness. The pre-pilot screening aircraft remained in storage at the Air Force Academy and at Hondo Airport near in San Antonio.
An Air Force F-16 pilot designed a collapsible ladder that weighs just six pounds and folds into the unused cockpit map case.