Navy turboprop crashes in Magnolia Springs, killing both pilots

Navy turboprop crashes in Magnolia Springs, killing both pilots

The U.S. Navy identified the two pilots killed in an Oct. 23 plane crash in Magnolia Springs as Lt. Rhiannon Ross, 30, of Wixom, Michigan, and U.S. Coast Guard Ensign Morgan Garrett, 24, of Weddington, North Carolina.
Lt. Ross was the instructor pilot and Ensign Garrett the student aviator in a U.S. Navy T-6B Texan II turboprop training aircraft that took off from Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton on a routine training flight before crashing on Mansion Street in Magnolia Springs. The crash occurred around 4:30 p.m.
The crash set a nearby house and several automobiles on fire, but there were no other casualties, according to local emergency personnel.
A facebook post from the office of the Chief of Naval Air Training stated: “It is with a heavy heart that we mourn two of our pilots who lost their lives during an aircraft crash in Alabama today. Our deepest sympathy goes to their family and friends at this difficult time. Rest in peace, Shipmates. We have the watch.”
Ensign Garrett graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2019 and majored in marine and environmental sciences. She was a regimental activities officer at the academy and competed as a middle-distance runner in track and field]. And Lt. Ross served three years with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26 out of Norfolk, before joining the Florida based Training Squadron Two in 2018, according to a report in The Navy Times.
The Navy issued a safety stand-down to give its aviation units time “to focus on how to further improve operational risk management and risk mitigation across the Naval Aviation enterprise.”
Pictured: (U.S. Navy) U.S. Coast Guard Ensign Morgan Garrett (left) and U.S. Navy Lt. Rhiannon Ross.