Panetta curtails F-22 flights after pilot complaints of blackouts

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/panetta-curtails-f-22-flights-after-pilot-complaints-of-blackouts/2012/05/15/gIQAfLB0RU_story.html

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta ordered the Air Force Tuesday to curtail flights of its F-22 Raptor fighter jet and accelerate the installation of backup oxygen generators in response to pilot complaints of wooziness and fainting spells in the cockpit.

Panetta’s intervention was spurred by the public refusal of some F-22 pilots to fly the aircraft despite the insistence of Air Force leaders that the radar-evading plane is safe. Some members of Congress have also expressed concerns that the Air Force has failed to take warnings from its pilots seriously enough.

In what amounts to a rebuke of the Air Force’s handling of the issue, Panetta directed that F-22 flights be limited in distance so pilots can easily make an emergency landing at any given time. He also told the Air Force to speed up its plans to add backup oxygen supplies to the aircraft and to report to him monthly about efforts to pinpoint the cause of the problems.

“The secretary wants to add his muscle to this,” George Little, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters. “He takes very seriously the concerns raised by the pilots.” An Air Force spokesman declined to comment on Panetta’s directive.

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1. The F-22 Is Now More Useless Than At Any Time Since It Was Grounded

http://www.businessinsider.com/defense-secretary-leon-panetta-restricts-f-22-flights-2012-5



***SNIP

"Two pilots who flew the F-22 that were interviewed on 60 Minutes addressed [an] issue about how the Air Force needs… tests from flights in the air to figure out what the problem is. They described themselves as guinea pigs. How do you ensure that, you know, airmen who are flying the Raptor aren't being used as guinea pigs in this case?"
Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby skirted the question.
"I don't think we would ever refer to a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force as a guinea pig," he said.
Though he added that any airman's "service and expertise is critical to helping us figure out what the problem is here."
He may have been referring to the F-22 mechanics who have also been getting sick from being around the jet. Larry Shaughnessy at CNN Security Clearance reports that the Air Force is looking into 11 reports of "hypoxia-like symptoms" since September in its crews of Maintainers. These are the airmen who sometimes occupy the cockpit when the Raptor's doing a "ground run".
The truth is, the Air Force should have been the first to intervene in the F-22 issue and act — not wait for the Defense Secretary to slap a mandate on its fleet.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/defense-secretary-leon-panetta-restricts-f-22-flights-2012-5#ixzz1v2Kn3Kvi