Air Force Blames Improperly Secured Stabilizer Hardware and Missed Backlash Check for May T-38C Crash in Alabama

A U.S. Air Force accident investigation has attributed the May 12 crash of a T-38C Talon in Alabama to improperly secured horizontal stabilizer hardware and failures in maintenance inspections. The report, released Oct. 30, found that a loose actuator attachment allowed aerodynamic flutter that caused both horizontal stabilizers to separate during a training mission. Both pilots ejected and sustained minor injuries.

The aircraft was assigned to Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi. Several weeks before the accident, it had undergone unscheduled maintenance after an uncommanded roll, when contractors found excessive movement in the left horizontal stabilizer actuator, which was removed, repaired and reinstalled. Maintenance personnel checked the stabilizers' range of motion, but investigators found that a required backlash inspection was not performed after reinstallation. The investigation board president wrote that the contractors who signed off the installation, the work center supervisor, the Impoundment Official, Quality Assurance personnel and the Impoundment Release Authority all had the opportunity and capability to catch the missing check but did not.

On May 12, during a formation training flight, the crew heard a loud noise and felt severe vibrations before the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent. The instructor pilot tried to regain control before both crew members ejected, and the aircraft was destroyed in rural Alabama. Investigators found no evidence that the pilots contributed to the accident.

The Air Force paused all T-38 operations on May 19 and lifted the pause on May 28 after developing inspection procedures for returning aircraft to flight. The T-38 has served as an advanced jet trainer since the 1960s and is scheduled to be replaced by the T-7A Red Hawk, with Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas due to begin replacing its T-38C fleet in 2034.