JONAH BENNETT
National Security/Politics Reporter
6:46 PM 06/09/2017
The Air Force has grounded 55 F-35s after
several pilots reported serious oxygen deprivation during flights.
Air Force spokesman Capt. Mark Graff released a statement Friday noting that in five cases
pilots “reported physiological incidents while flying.” Luckily, a backup
oxygen system on the F-35 kicked, which allowed pilots to land without further
trouble, Defense One reports.
The incidents occurred at Luke Air Force Base
in Arizona, marking the second time Air Force F-35s have been grounded in a
year.
According to Graff, the fighter jets at Luke
Air Force Base will likely be cleared to fly again Monday.
“Wing officials will educate U.S. and
international pilots today on the situation and increase their awareness of
hypoxia symptoms,” Graff said in a statement. “Pilots will also be briefed on
all the incidents that have occurred and the successful actions taken by the
pilots to safely recover their aircraft.”
In late March, Bloomberg reported that Navy pilots have suffered bouts of hypoxia because
of a loss of cabin pressure, leading to oxygen deprivation. These issues have
steadily increased every year since 2010 on all F-18 models, which
includes the Super Hornet. Navy officials are still trying to get to the bottom
of what they’re referring to as “physiological episodes.”
The Navy has also recently ground its T-45
Goshawk planes after pilots complained of headaches and oxygen deprivation.
The problem was so dire that 100 instructor pilots flat-out refused to fly the
planes, forcing the Navy to ground all 195 planes in the T-45 fleet.
Air Force F-35s on other bases like Hill Air
Force Base and Eglin Air Force Base are still cleared for flying, and next
week, a group of F-35s will fly to France for the Paris Air Show. Those F-35s
will come from the Hill base.
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