High-profile accidents in US military aviation over the past two years have brought flight safety procedures and training capacity back into focus. Internal Pentagon data reveal a sharp rise in major accidents involving military aircraft in fiscal year 2024, while fatal incidents in 2025 indicate that the trend is continuing.
According to data submitted by the Department of Defense to Congress and shared with the Associated Press, the serious accident rate per 100,000 flight hours across all services has increased by 55% over the past four years. The most striking rise was seen in the Marine Corps, where the rate nearly tripled.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren described the current situation as “extremely concerning” following the release of the data, stressing that urgent legislative measures are needed to ensure Congress gains access to more information to understand the causes of the accidents.
Marked risk increase across different platforms
The data show that the trend of accidents is more pronounced in certain military aircraft. The V-22 Osprey, which flies like an aeroplane but lands like a helicopter, remains among the riskiest platforms, while the Class A accident rate of Apache helicopters in fiscal year 2024 increased 4.5 times compared to four years earlier. The serious accident rate of C-130 transport aircraft nearly doubled in the same period.
The Pentagon has declined to comment on these trends.
The US Navy’s own statistics also paint a worrying picture: after reporting eight Class A incidents in 2024, the Navy announced that this number rose to 14 in 2025.
Former military pilot and aviation expert John Nance highlighted the intense operational tempo as one of the main factors triggering accidents, stating: “As operations increase, so does risk. It’s inevitable.”
2025: A critical year marked by successive accidents
Although official data do not yet cover 2025, a series of notable accidents have occurred throughout the year. In a collision between an Army helicopter and a passenger jet over Washington, D.C., 67 people were killed, and investigations revealed that the helicopter’s altimeter was faulty and the pilot’s night-vision equipment malfunctioning.
- Accidents aboard aircraft carriers also attracted attention that year:
- USS Harry S. Truman lost two F/A-18 Super Hornets within weeks.
- USS Gettysburg accidentally shot down an F/A-18 in December 2024.
- Four elite soldiers were killed when a Black Hawk crashed during a training flight at a military base in Washington.
A fighter jet and a helicopter from USS Nimitz crashed into the South China Sea within half an hour of each other.
Experts agree that the reduced flight hours during the COVID-19 pandemic had a “downward impact” on pilot proficiency.
New data request from Congress
Senator Warren’s office announced that it has requested more comprehensive accident data from the Pentagon covering the years 2019–2025. The request includes not only Class A accidents but also the less severe Class B and C categories. Detailed information on the training processes of flight crews and maintenance personnel is also sought.
As the rising trend in accidents within the US military remains on the radar of both political and military institutions, the release of new data is expected to further intensify the debate over flight safety.
