The practice was both widespread in the tiny world of naval aviation and almost completely unknown to outsiders, according to records provided to Navy Times.
Joint strike fighter delays, unplanned-for service-life extensions and other headaches have cut the time pilots spend in the cockpit and reduced their desire to stay in uniform, according to an Inspector General report.
A Navy investigation has concluded that pilot error led to an Oct. 1 T-45C Goshawk training aircraft crash in a remote Tennessee national forrest killing an instructor and student pilot.
The Navy claims it is making progress in the battle against oxygen loss and other physiological episodes that threaten pilots, but critics say their effort has disappointed.
The two Training Squadron Seven pilots died Sunday when their T-45C Goshawk aircraft crashed in Cherokee National Forest, near Tellico Plains in southeast Tennessee.