Pentagon doesn’t link budget shortfalls to fatal jet crash

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon acknowledged Thursday that budget shortfalls have eroded military capabilities, including training and flight hours, but stopped short of blaming those cutbacks for the crash of a U.S. Navy fighter jet that killed both crew members.

Dana White, Pentagon spokeswoman, said the cause of the F/A-18 Super Hornet crash Wednesday off the coast of Key West, Florida, is still under investigation. But she was asked if there was a link between the crash and persistent military complaints about reductions in flying hours and other training cutbacks because Congress hasn’t approved the 2018 budget.

“It’s important that we not necessarily draw a direct correlation, but it is important that we have stable funding. That has been our message to the Congress and to the American people for the last several months,” said White. “Capabilities erode. And things are delayed.”

Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth Mckenzie, director of the Joint Staff, said military readiness is a key priority, but it’s not clear how it affected the aircraft or the deaths of the crew. He added, however, that “pilots are going to be flying more and training is going to pick up.”

The Super Hornet was on approach to land at the naval air station in Key West around 4:30 p.m. when it crashed into shallow water about a mile east of the runway.

Both the pilot and weapons-system officer ejected and were pulled out of the water. U.S. Naval Air Forces said late Wednesday that both had died. Their names are being withheld until 24 hours after families were notified, as is usual in cases of military deaths.

April Phillips, a spokeswoman for the Naval Safety Center in Norfolk, Virginia, said there have been 25 serious mishaps involving F/A-18 Super Hornets since fiscal year 2008. They resulted in four deaths — including the two Wednesday — and the loss of 11 aircraft. The other two fatalities were in 2011.

All 25 were considered “Class A,” which means a crew member died or the plane suffered at least $2 million in damage. There were five incidents last year, the most of any year in the past decade, and all remain under investigation. There was one mishap in 2016.