MERIDIAN, Miss — Following concerns with contamination of oxygen systems aboard T-45 “Goshawks,” the Naval Air Station in Meridian and two other stations have suspended flights for five days.

Vice Admiral Mike Shoemaker, commander in the Naval Air Forces, and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker visited NAS-Meridian officials and instructor pilots Saturday to discuss concerns with the o-box system, which supplies oxygen to pilots when flying above 10,000 feet. 

Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Seapower, said these troubles were new and hadn’t been reported in the past. 

“It’s a bigger, different issue than Navy leaders thought it was,” Wicker said. 

Only three bases fly the planes: Meridian; Pensacola, Florida; and Kingsville, Texas. One plane from Meridian and one from Kingsville were flown to the Naval Air Station known as Pax River in Maryland to be disassembled and examined closer.

Shoemaker visited each base and said the possibility of flying would be reevaluated at the end of the five days. 

Pilots were experiencing issues with the oxygen systems and not getting enough oxygen to breathe. Though they had trained for such scenarios, the systems weren’t kicking in soon enough to fend off numbness and shortness of breath. 

In the meantime, pilots may limit flights below 10,000 feet and follow other safety precautions such as not using the masks, Shoemaker said. 

Shoemaker said this issue was the number one priority of Navy leaders. 

“Manpower and money will not be issues in solving this,” Shoemaker said. 

Wicker expressed a concern with the training delay, especially considering a possible conflict in Syria. 

“There’s a balance of the safety aspect with readiness,” Wicker said. “We’re training the best pilots in the world. So, yes, we need to get back to flying.”

Downard writes for the Meridian, Mississippi Star.