The elite Starfleet Academy flight team whose attempt at a banned maneuver killed a cadet and led to a cover-up exposed in 2368.
Nova Squadron was a five-person flight team of Starfleet Academy cadets, led by Nicholas Locarno and including Wesley Crusher. In 2368, while practicing for the Academy's commencement exhibition near Saturn's moon Titan, the squadron suffered a collision that killed cadet Joshua Albert.
At the inquiry, Locarno claimed the accident occurred during a standard maneuver. Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew found evidence that the team had actually attempted the Kolvoord Starburst, a spectacular formation banned more than a century earlier after a training accident killed all the cadets involved.
Picard confronted Wesley, who eventually told the truth before the inquiry board. Locarno accepted responsibility and was expelled, while the remaining members lost their academic credit for the year. Wesley had to repeat the year, and the episode became a defining lesson in Starfleet's emphasis on honesty over loyalty.