Navy failed to address pilot brain injury risks, House panel says

A House Oversight Committee subpanel in a report on Tuesday criticized the Navy for failing to examine whether the physical demands of flying its fighter jets can cause lasting brain injuries that contribute to mental health problems among aviators.

The investigation showed that the Navy did not take meaningful action to address the issue despite the suicides of three F/A-18 Super Hornet pilots several years ago and persistent concerns about the potential neurological effects of extreme flying.

“Despite internal warnings and external reporting, the Navy has not taken the steps necessary to determine whether it is systemically exposing its aviators to long-term brain injury,” stated the report, compiled by the panel’s military and foreign affairs subcommittee.

The committee’s Republican leadership — chairman James Comer, of Kentucky, and subcommittee chairman William Timmons, of South Carolina — said the Navy’s lack of thorough investigation was “concerning and a disservice to those who serve.”

The Navy did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Lawmakers launched a probe into the issue after The New York Times reported in 2024 about the potential cumulative toll of repeated catapult launches from aircraft carriers and other high-speed maneuvers on the brains of fighter crews.

The resulting committee report found that the Navy internally attributed mental health issues primarily to operational stress rather than neurological injury.

When Navy leadership questioned Navy medical experts on whether flying was causing brain injuries, the medical team said there was no evidence or research of the problem, so there was no need to investigate further, the report said.

The report also cites a 2024 memo by a Navy doctor and former pilot that sought to raise the alarm about the issue but did not spur substantive action. After two former pilots died by suicide, the doctor conducted an independent study and surveyed 20 aviators, finding widespread mental health problems.

The memo was widely shared among Navy personnel, including by a Navy captain who emailed it to several admirals.

“Feedback from the bro-network is that this is a hot topic… and it is affecting retention of our senior aviators,” the captain wrote. “These suicides, may, or may not be linked by common causes. But we will not know until we choose to study this problem with the same vigor we tackle other challenges in [the] community.”

The committee report said the Navy and its vast research enterprise are well-equipped to study long-term aviator brain health but have not done so. The estimated cost of conducting such a study is $3.9 million — about the cost of training one to two elite pilots.

“Given the Navy’s substantial investment in human capital, failing to allocate comparable resources to understanding risks and protecting that investment, particularly in terms of long-term health, is unfortunate,” the report stated.

The Navy responded to lawmaker scrutiny in April with a study of 8,500 active-duty naval aviators. The study found no significant increase in diagnosed neurological conditions among aviators exposed to high gravitational forces, but it did not account for conditions that could emerge later in life.

“Critically, the study does not resolve whether repeated exposure to high-G forces and other stressors may result in cumulative or delayed neurological effects, underscoring the need for longitudinal research,” the committee report stated.

Naval aviators endure up to nine Gs of force during sharp, high-speed maneuvers, making their bodies and gear feel nine times their weight. High vertical G-forces rapidly pull blood away from the brain toward the lower extremities.

The report says Congress should step in to force the military to confront the issue. It recommends legislation that would require the Pentagon to study the long-term neurological risk to all aviators and establish a program focused on aviator brain and mental health.

It also recommends that the Pentagon reform medical policies to reduce the stigma around seeking mental health care, particularly among aviators who may avoid treatment for fear of losing their flight eligibility.

“Naval aviators who have potentially suffered from traumatic brain injuries and other neurological ailments deserve the ability to seek out healthcare without feeling ostracized or weak,” Comer and Timmons said in a statement.