American troops killed in noncombat plane crashes doubled this year: report

The number of American soldiers killed in noncombat flights has reportedly doubled this year.

The 37 U.S. service members killed in 2017 marks a 130 percent increase over the number of deaths from noncombat operations last year, according to a Fox News investigation. 

There have been 22 crashes of military planes flying on routine operations this year, a 38 percent increase over last year. 

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The findings follow the deadly crash of a Navy transport plane on Wednesday over the Pacific Ocean. Eight men were rescued after a U.S. Navy cargo plane carrying 11 men went down near Japan on its way to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier as part of joint military demonstrations by the U.S. and Japan. 

The Navy’s 7th fleet called off the search for the three missing men on Thursday, and are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash. The incident is the deadliest in the U.S. since the August crash of an Army Black Hawk helicopter off the coast of Hawaii.