The Navy is reviewing causes and solutions to problems relating to oxygen systems aboard T-45s jets that led some pilots at Naval Air Station Meridian and elsewhere to refuse to fly training missions because of safety issues.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) plans to meet with NAS Meridian officials on Saturday to discuss the safety issues. Navy officials briefed Wicker in Washington, D.C. on the problems on Wednesday. Wicker is chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Seapower, which has oversight of the Navy and naval aviation.

NAS Meridian Public Affairs Officer Penny Randall said Friday morning the Navy has barred her office from speaking publicly about the matter. She referred all questions to the Naval Air Command’s Public Affairs Office in San Diego.

T-45 training jets are used in Meridian and at Naval Air Stations in Pensacola, Fla. and Kingsville, Texas.

Wicker said he’s hopeful the visit will yield some answers.

“There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered,” Wicker said in a statement. “In my experience, pilots want to be in the air, not on the ground. Only extraordinary circumstances, such as feeling unsafe in an aircraft, would keep them from doing their job. I am committed to working with the Navy and our pilots to help resolve this issue.”

“Last Friday, roughly 40 percent of flights were canceled in the T-45 training commands in Meridian, Pensacola and Kingsville because of operational risk management concerns voiced by the instructor pilots,” the Navy said in a statement on Wednesday. “Their concerns were about recent physiological episodes experienced in the cockpit that were caused by contamination of the aircraft’s oxygen system.

“CNATRA (The Chief of Naval Air Training) immediately requested the engineering experts at NAVAIR, who are working to correct this problem, conduct in person briefs with the pilots at Training Wings One, Two and Six. The briefs were conducted in Kingsville Monday, then Meridian and Pensacola Tuesday.

“We take the concerns of our aircrew seriously and have directed a two-day safety pause for the T-45 community to allow time for Naval Aviation leadership to engage with the pilots, hear their concerns and discuss the risk mitigations as well as the efforts that are ongoing to correct this issue.”

The Navy acknowledged each individual is trained and motivated to personally manage risk.

“Physiological Episodes are the No. 1 safety priority and focus area for the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE) and will remain our top safety priority until we fully understand all causal factors and have eliminated PEs as a risk to our flight operations,” the Navy said in a statement…

“This is a complex problem with multiple interrelated potential causal factors. The root cause of physiological episodes remains unidentified, but engineers are working diligently to find a solution.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.