Years before Air Force base fatality, investigators found 'failure’ in a Sig Sauer gun

Last month, the U.S. Air Force suspended use of the M18 pistol for one of its units comprising more than 33,000 personnel following the death of a 21-year old airman on a base in Wyoming.

The decision to halt use of the gun, which is manufactured by New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer, is the latest indication of concern about the weapon: For years, lawsuits and the gun’s critics have alleged the pistol, which is sold on the civilian market as the P320, has a flaw that leaves it susceptible to firing unintentionally.

Aside from the Air Force's suspension of the M18 for its Global Strike Force unit, the broader U.S. military has said it remains confident in the gun, and Sig Sauer has staunchly defended the weapon's design and construction.

But records obtained by New Hampshire Public Radio through a Freedom of Information Act Request show that years before the death of Airman Brayden Lovan on July 20, Air Force investigators concluded that an M18 pistol appeared to have fired without a trigger pull on a U.S. base in Italy.

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.

Asked about the statement in the Aviano report about other possible incidents involving the gun, U.S. military officials said “to date, there is no documented instance within the Air Force of an M18 discharging unintentionally in any of the reported negligent discharges.”

An Air Force spokesperson did say that as part of its broader review of the M18 following the killing of Airman Lovan on Warren Air Base in Wyoming last month, investigators would review “specific weapons involved in past discharge incidents to identify any potential overlap.” It isn’t clear if the M18 that fired unexpectedly on Aviano will be part of that analysis.

The Air Force has not released any details about Lovan’s death, but confirmed that its suspension of the use of the M18 by the Global Strike Command was prompted by the fatality. Lovan’s family is calling for all branches of the military to prohibit use of the gun, and has retained a lawyer.

Sig Sauer has forcefully defended the safety of the P320, as well as the military’s versions of the gun — known as the M17 and M18 — as allegations have mounted about risks associated with the weapons. Earlier this year, the Newington-based gun manufacturer announced in a PR campaign that it would take a more combative approach to countering such allegations, declaring “it ends today.”

As part of its efforts, Sig Sauer worked with Republican lawmakers in New Hampshire earlier this year to enact a broad liability law that could shield the company from future lawsuits in the state.

In recent years, there have been more than 100 lawsuits filed by individual gun owners — many of them members of law enforcement — who claim their P320 fired unintentionally, often leading to injuries. Sig Sauer has prevailed in some of the lawsuits, while juries in others have awarded multi-million settlements for plaintiffs.

In the wake of the death of Lovan, the company has faced a fresh wave of scrutiny in recent weeks, prompting some private gun ranges to prohibit use of the weapon, and calls by at least one lawmaker in Florida to end use of the gun by police there.

In a lengthy statement issued last week, the company said it “respected the public’s concern” about the weapon, but reiterated that the gun will only fire when the trigger is pulled to the rear.

After NHPR provided Sig Sauer with a copy of the incident report at Aviano Air Base, a company spokesperson disputed the results of the Air Force’s investigation.

“Considering the only way an M18 can fire is when the manual thumb safety is disengaged and the trigger is pulled, the evidence would show that the incident was caused by an unintentional trigger pull,” he said.

The Aviano incident report was included in a set of documents released to NHPR by the U.S. Air Force that detail 32 separate discharges of the M18 on Air Force bases around the world since 2020. There were two instances of the gun firing due to foreign objects inadvertently pulling the trigger, including on Fort Bliss when a lanyard hanging off of an airman’s uniform became lodged in the trigger well. In other reports, airmen were found to have negligently handled the weapon, causing it to fire.

In an incident on a base in Qatar in 2022, an airman was ultimately disciplined after investigators determined that he “showed complacency and lack of control” when his M18 fired unexpectedly while he was readying the weapon for a shift. In an interview, the airman "adamantly denied” to investigators that he touched the gun’s trigger, and the review noted that the gun jammed following the shooting.

On Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in 2023, an M18 unexpectedly fired as an airman was attaching his holstered weapon to his hip. According to the incident report, two witnesses confirmed that the airman, whose name is redacted in the Air Force’s incident report, never touched the trigger. The bullet ripped through a storage container inside an armory on base, but didn’t cause any injuries, according to the report.

Over the past decade, Sig Sauer has risen to become the sidearm supplier of choice of the U.S. military. In 2017, the U.S. Army awarded Sig Sauer a contract valued at an estimated $580 million to provide a new standard sidearm, following a lengthy competition between gun manufacturers. Other branches of the military, including the Air Force, have since adopted the M17, and its compact version, the M18, for their service members. Hundreds of thousands of the guns are now in the possession of the U.S. military.

Previous reporting by NHPR found that the Army and Marine Corps have also documented instances of the gun allegedly firing without a trigger pull, including a 2023 shooting on Fort Eustis in Virginia. A sergeant there suffered a gunshot wound to his foot after his holster bumped into another soldier’s, causing the weapon to discharge.

In response to that reporting, the Army said the M17 had undergone significant testing prior to its adoption, and that it maintained confidence in the weapon.

An Air Force spokesperson declined to say this week if it would work with other branches of the military as part of its ongoing review of the pistol. The Air Force also declined to say if there was video footage of the incident on Warren Air Force base, or when it may conclude its investigation.

Since Lovan’s death, gun ranges — including Gunsite Academy in Arizona — have temporarily prohibited use of the P320. A police academy range in Washington State previously banned the gun, and numerous law enforcement agencies, including the Milwaukee, Denver, and Dallas police departments, have also stopped carrying the weapon.

This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by New Hampshire Public Radio.