A T-6 Texan II trainer crashed at approximately 5:50 p.m. July 9 in a sparsely populated area of Webster County, Miss., about 40 miles west of Columbus Air Force Base, according to a July 10 release from the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus. The pilot, an international officer whose name was withheld pending coordination with the appropriate embassy, ejected safely. The officer was participating in the Aviation Leadership Program, which provides undergraduate flying training. According to the release, the 14th FTW planned to continue T-1A and T-38C pilot training operations today with T-6A operations expected to resume this weekend. The Air Force has convened a board to investigate the accident.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.