Following an investigation by the Navy that confirmed certain safety-related allegations referred there by the Office of Special Counsel, the OSC has called for the Navy to take disciplinary actions.
Issues raised in a whistleblowing disclosure filed at the OSC resulted in a Navy report confirming that an installation had failed to properly test aircraft refueling equipment. According to the report, that failure could have caused an engine malfunction or failure during flight, and also raised the risk of spills and fires because hoses were not inspected properly—some of them were “in extremely poor condition.”
The lapses also caused the Navy to waste a reported 12,000 gallons of jet fuel because of a mistaken belief that it was contaminated.
The disclosures “will save the Navy money and may also prevent a fatal tragedy involving our men and women in uniform,” said Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner in a statement. “While the Navy is now taking these issues seriously, it is troubling that no employees were held accountable for allowing serious safety problems to persist, despite being aware of fuel testing improprieties for two years.”
