https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025-08-04/years-before-air-force-base-fatality-investigators-found-failure-in-a-sig-sauer-gun
Years before Air Force base fatality, investigators found 'failure’ in a
Sig Sauer gun
New Hampshire Public Radio | By Todd Bookman
Published August 4, 2025 at 4:42 PM EDT
Quote:
The incident occurred on Aviano Air Base in 2022: As a staff sergeant loaded a magazine into his M18 and released the slide — with the gun’s safety on — the weapon fired unexpectedly. Air base staff treated the area as a “crime scene” and took statements from 15 military personnel.
Investigators went so far as to fingerprint the gun, finding no prints on the gun’s trigger, according to an Air Force report.
Investigators then disassembled the pistol and found wear marks on an internal component of the gun called the mechanical disconnect, leading them to conclude that “the weapon suffered a mechanical failure.” According to the squadron commander who authored the report, “negligent discharges are on the rise” and there have been other “reported possible mechanical malfunctions” of the M18 documented by the Air Force.
US Air Force
