US Air Force Nearing Answers On F-22 Oxygen Issue

By Andrea Shalal-Esa/Reuters

The data showed 0.7 incidents per 100,000 flying hours in which pilots reported feeling dizzy or light-headed while flying the A-10, and 2.34 incidents per 100,000 flight hours on the F-15E built by Boeing Co. The F-16 Block 50 model had 2.96 incidents per 100,000 flight hours, the lawmakers reported.

“This information confirms that the F-22 program is not running at 100 percent and that the oxygen-deprivation incident rates are much higher than we were initially told,” Kinzinger said in a news release, vowing to continue to press for details.

Warner said the safety of Air Force pilots and the communities over which they flew should be the biggest concern.

“The F-22 program has cost $80 billion so far, but the most expensive fighter jet in the world is useless if we cannot ensure the safety of the pilots who fly it,” he said.

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