Is the Air Force's F-22 fighter jet making pilots sick?

Lesley Stahl: Does that sound like a lot to you or not?

Jeremy Gordon: It's an astronomical occurrence rate. This is totally just me in ball park, but probably unprecedented in flying, that many physiological incidents in that amount of time of the same type and same aircraft.

The Air Force has confirmed that they have never seen such high rates of hypoxia in any other aircraft, with 36 of the 200 pilots reporting an incident, or 18 percent.

On Monday, the Air Force invited us to an F-22 media event at Langley Air Force Base and admitted that even after calling in NASA and the Navy's deep divers unit to help, the root cause of the pilots' hypoxia remains a mystery. General Michael Hostage is head of the Air Combat Command which runs the F-22 program.

Lesley Stahl: Is there any consideration now in the Air Force to ground the plane again, to find out what's going wrong?

Michael Hostage: At this point, no. I don't see a reason to stand the plane down.

Lesley Stahl: But general, the cases still come. Do you have a feeling that the pilots are getting concerned?

Michael Hostage: I know they're concerned.

Lesley Stahl: And yet you're gonna keep flying them?

Michael Hostage: Yes ma'am. Ideally I want the risk as low as possible. I'm not able to drive it as low in this airplane as I am with others because of this unknown circumstance, but I have driven it down to a level where we believe we can safely operate the airplane.

Lesley Stahl: Why is it taking so long to find out what the problem is?

Michael Hostage: Well, if I knew what the problem was, it would be gone. I just have not found the problem yet.

---

Lesley Stahl: In your opinion, is the F-22 safe to fly?

Jeremy Gordon: I'm not comfortable answering that question directly. I am not comfortable flying in the F-22 right now.

Josh Wilson: I am currently not flying the aircraft.

In a rare show of defiance for Air Force officers, both men informed their command in January they were going to stop flying.

Lesley Stahl: The Air Force says there is an inherent risk in flying. Period. Any of these planes.

Josh Wilson: Yes.

Lesley Stahl: Kind of sounds like, "Man up, guys. There's a risk. Come on."

Jeremy Gordon: Absolutely there's an inherent level of risk, just like there's an inherent level of risk of driving.

Lesley Stahl: You mean if there's a mechanical risk?

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[linuxer1999]

Well, this article is old now, but still perplexing. But I have a hunch:

My mind can become overloaded with visual information while playing a 3-D first-person shooter game, causing vertigo and feeling of sickness. This does not happen to everyone, but I have discussed this with others, and am certainly not alone.

If these pilots' minds are being visually bombarded with an unprecedented amount of 3-D tactical information on their displays while flying the F-22, is it not possible that particular flyers experience this the same kind of disorientation due to over-stimulation of the visual cortex?

[rajfl]

I can solve the problem, 45 days! need engineer cooperation and 50K expenses allowed for analysis expense. Past data needed for analysis. Want to help my country. Have three masters degree - MS Chemical Eng,
MS Electrical Eng and 15 years experience of troubleshooting eng problems.

Last patent filed - after 2 PhD and ONE MTS gave up on a problem..

[hbevis]

I have wondered for a long time if they have sent the F-22 up with a container of Oxygen for the Pilots to use instead of the on board system? I worked in research for over 32 years and it seems to me that some people have their heads on backwards. There has been enough time to redesign the whole Air Plane by now.

[proudf-22pilotwife]

Dear PhilRicc, Believe what you want, but I am indeed an F-22 pilot's wife. I would be glad to prove it to you. Call me a liar and stupid if you want, but you don't know all of the facts. Let me explain why I am ok with my husband flying the F-22... I trust his judgment! #1 The number of incidents are less than .1% (notice the . in front of the 1) of the total F-22 flying hours. #2 Despite what you may have heard, no incidents have resulted in serious injury. #3 The AF has done an exhaustive search for something dangerous in the jet and can't find anything. #4 Flying fighters is inherently dangerous- this is not the first time in fighter aviation history where some system quirks have had to be worked out. I trust my husband, his knowledge and flying ability. I do not think for a second that he has a death wish, and if he is comfortable getting in the jet and sending his pilots on sorties in the jet, then that's enough for me. Sometimes having all of the facts makes it easier to have a certain opinion. For the record, saying you hope my husband "crashes" is what makes YOU a "bad american"!!!!!

[proudf-22pilotwife]

Also, It's not like the AF was trying to hide that there were issues with the jet. If that had been the case, I would have been 100% behind the actions of the pilots in question. But there was no need for them to go to 60 minutes to "tell their story." The problem was known and the AF was trying (and continues to try) to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, I trust my husband's judgment and decision to continue flying.

[hbevis]

I have no doubt that your husband is a very good Pilot but something is going on and has been for a long time. Don't you think that it is about time to do something different than they have been doing. I worked for over 32 years doing research for the USAF, much of it having to do with a number of Aircraft. I have been retired for over 18 years. Many times you have someone in charge that has tunnel vision and can't see the whole picture. If this keeps up with the F-22 then sooner or later someone is going to die when they ride one of these F-22's down to the ground.

[ReconDoc1991]

This is ridiculous. As highly trained and as expensive as their training is, I hate seeing their lives needlessly put at risk. The O2 delivery system is a chemical process that occurs outside the pressurized cockpit. Could the process be affected by high alititude and slowing of the chemical process? How are their tests being done, are they testing these systems on the ground? What altitudes are these pilots flying at when the incidents occur?

[hbevis]

Very good comment. I have been wondering many of the same things. The USAF
has a very good testing complex at Arnold Air Force Base near Tullahoma Tennessee. They have texting chambers that can simulate almost any condition that you can imagine. This is the largest testing complex in the free world.

[ea6bq2]

The military needs to accept the fact that the F-22 is a worthless piece of junk. I don't blame the pilots for coming out and telling the world that they have a major issues with this A/C. Instead of going after the brave pilots they should go after Lockheed Martin who created this piece of junk at the tax payers expense. The military should have know better when they contracted the development of the F-22 to Lockheed Martin. The F-117 Nighthawk, was a big example that they don't know how to development good fighter jets. It was commonly called the "Stealth Fighter" although it was a ground-attack aircraft, making its F-designation misleading. I never understood why they needed the EA-6B Prowler to jam the radars when Lockheed Martin claim that the F-117 was invisible to radar. Later we found out that NATO generals, detected F-117s by operating his radars on unusually long wavelengths, making the aircraft visible for brief periods. I wonder how many problems they are having with the F-35 Lightning II, that we are still not aware.

[TTWCS]

Saying that the F-22 is a "worthless piece of junk" would classify it right up there in saying that Aegis and our supercarriers are the same.. is it spendy, oh yes, but it's the best fighter in the world, and by itself is a "force in being"

now saying that Lockheed Martin can't develop good fighters, look at the aircraft that Lockheed developed over the years. P-38 Lightning, F-104 Starfighter, F-16 Falcon.. to say that any of those aren't exceptional fighters is just wrong..

you use Prowlers (and now Growlers) to jam enemy radar so that conventional aircraft can enter enemy territory, and yes, you want it also to protect stealth aircraft, since ANY thing is visible to radar, if you have the right frequency and enough power..

[hbevis]

You are making a comment that is off of the wall. Lockheed Martin is still a good company....there may be a few people in the system that should not be there but over all they are a very good company.

[richard3332]

What would the air force do if all 200 pilots resigned or threatened to immediately and all together?

[PhilRicc]

Phil R

[me77770]

They looked at the oxygen coming in the last time they grounded the plane. Maybe they should look to see if the pilots are breathing correctly to get rid of the CO2.

Maybe there is a problem with getting rid of the CO2 in the equipment and the pilots are rebreathing it and getting sick.

Or maybe the pilots aren't breathing enough. They are too involved in what they are doing they forget to breathe. Don't laugh! What do all of those exercise people say on TV - don't forget to breathe LOL

[jwbg13]

These brave pilots are to be commended for speaking out. Unfortunately, the USA government shoots the messenger in situations like this, rather than fixing the problem. These men are probably going to have serious legal problems soon along with loss of career and loss of income. They need to contact the Government Accountability Project (GAP), a non-profit organizatioin that advises and protects whistleblowers in situations like this. GAP can be reached at www.whistleblower.org. They should ask to be put in touch with the National Security and Human Rights Director at GAP. I wish them the best.

[proudf-22pilotwife]

Dear Jeremy Gordon and Josh Wilson, The US Air Force did not promise you a "safe" jet to fly....there is no such thing!!!! If you wanted a job that wasn't dangerous you should have chosen to be an accountant or something. God forbid any of the ground troops decide that it may not be "safe" to enter hostile territory.... Think about it, because it's the same thing. You are an embarrassment to the fighter pilot community, the US Air Force and the entire military. Please get out and go bake cupcakes or something!!!!