Lawmakers press the Air Force for additional info on the F-22 jet
Captain Josh Wilson, left, and Major Jeremy Gordon / 60 Minutes
(CBS News) WASHINGTON - After meeting Thursday with the two whistleblowers on the F-22 Raptor jet who first appeared on "60 Minutes" last week, Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Adam Kinzinger have sent a letter requesting additional information from Air Force on the program, said a Kinzinger spokesman in a statement.
In addition to requesting more information, they also recommended a confidential survey of those involved in the program in order to understand any potential safety issues involved, as well as a task force to study the issue.
"The Air Force, scientists and the air crews themselves must work together to solve this problem, and we need to make sure there is a culture in which others feel safe coming forward," Warner said.
On Tuesday, at a previously scheduled hearing of a Senate Armed Services subcommittee, the Air Force was questioned about the F-22's oxygen deprivation problem and about pilots who came forward in the "60 Minutes" story that first exposed the issue.
The pilots said in interviews with "60 Minutes" that they have chosen to stop flying the F-22 because they say during some flights they and other pilots have experienced oxygen deprivation, disorientation, and worse. They are concerned about their safety in the air, as well as the long-term health consequences. They also expressed concerns about being punished for raising these concerns outside typical military channels.
At the Senate hearing Tuesday, lawmakers learned that the top brass of the Air Force has issued a directive that the two pilots who appeared, Captain Josh Wilson and Major Jeremy Gordon, should not be retaliated against.
A lawyer for the pilots, Fredrick M. Morgan Jr., said in a statement he welcomed the assurances that no negative action would be taken against the men.
"We were profoundly gratified to hear General Janet Wolfenbarger clearly confirm, in her testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee this afternoon, what we have believed all along: That Major Gordon and Captain Wilson are fully protected from reprisal by the Military Whistleblower Protection Act," Morgan said.
Watch a video of the committee hearingThe full "60 Minutes" report on problems with the F-22 program
Morgan cautioned, however, that the pilots were not fully in the clear.
"We now look forward to the prompt withdrawal of the Letter of Reprimand against Captain Wilson, the termination of the Flying Evaluation Board proceeding, the reinstatement of his job and his promotion to Major, and the return of these fine officers to the service of their Nation at the controls of the airplane they love," Morgan said.
Watch the full "60 Minutes" report on the F-22 belowPopular on CBSNews.com
- Reporter Michael Hastings dies at 33
- Google asks FISA court to lift gag order on NSA requests
- Taliban: We killed 4 U.S. troops at Afghan air base
- Scientists say shipwreck timber in Lake Michigan centuries old
- TWA Flight 800 gets another look 17 years later
- Tornado briefly touches down on Denver airport runways
- Girl who lost feet in lawnmower gets prosthetics
- FAA approval sought for 650-foot-tall Vegas thrill ride
But the original incident in Alaska was apparently not a malfunction of the oxygen generation system. There was a failure (or perceived failure by the automated BIT/failure addressing systems) of one of the engine's bleed airs. That bleed air obviously has to be shut off if that is the conclusion the computers make to save the engine from exploding and was shut off, resulting in the oxygen generation system being inoperable. When the pilot realized he should compensate for this by turning on the emergency oxygen, he had to twist around in the cockpit to get to it without bumping the bulky nightvision goggles he was wearing into the canopy. That contortion of his body allowed the pedals and the stick to get nudged just enough (the stick is particularly difficult to judge how much input is being applied without looking at a heads-up display or external visual reference since it is a pressure/force stick that doesn't move much), and he accidentally dove the aircraft into the ground.
Now, yes, the handle he was reaching for was difficult to find and could not be grabbed easily by feel alone due also to its shape. The AF is finally addressing that issue. The other cause is just as serious: the F-22 cockpit was never really optimized to be flown in wearing bulky nightvision goggles added to the helmet. And the size and shape of that cockpit was the result of massive research. The anthropometrics were originally designed with a VR display built into the helmet that would project cueing information, flight data, and light amplification or thermal augmentation in front of your vision at all times (the latter from the IRST). The funding for implementing this essential and originally-intended feature has been cut by Congress & the DoD and continually moved back to later and later dates. The full helmet mounted display would have done two things: 1) it would have been less bulky and un-ergonomic, making it easy to turn in the cockpit without bumping your head gear into anything during night flights, and 2) it would have made the aircraft's orientation obvious to the pilot as the positional symbology information would have been in his view at all times like a floating HUD in his vision.
The idea that some F-15, F-16, and F-18s are already getting the first generation JHMCS, not to mention the F-35 is being completely built around an even more advanced version, but the F-22, the most advanced manned air-combat fighter that will probably ever be built, is the victim of these sorts of penning-pinching budget cuts, should give everyone pause. The F-22's helmet cueing funds have been cut. Its ground and side radar implementations have been reduced, cut, or moved to "a later administration". The Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system budget has been cut. The Datalink modernization (so that it can integrate into the rest of the newest AF feeds) has been cut. The implementation of the newest GPS munitions cannot go forward with these cuts. And yet people keep complaining that the F-22 can't be used in Afghanistan and that it's been more difficult to deal with some of its limitations than expected. These are budget-connected limitations imposed by the rest of the government on the F-22 fleet. At this point, the program appears to have been short changed by Congress, the Defense Department, and the media.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBT/is_3_58/ai_84091382/?tag=content;col1
and this:
http://www.public.navy.mil/navsafecen/Documents/media/approach/App_Nov-Dec11.pdf
So, I learn that an F-18 fighter pilot job also requires physical abuse, and tolerance of hostile environments to the limits of human capability. It is not so farfetched that the increment of higher performance available from the F-22, in the form on a little tighter turns, sustained for a few more seconds, performed a few more times per flight, practiced a few more flights a week, would lead to more reported health issues in more of the pilots. It sounds like some things need to be improved to recover the level of discomfort and danger that was "enjoyed" in the lower performing F-18. I think it can be improved. We can do it after some R&D. What is disturbing me is the appearance of a media effort to influence my opinion on a particular piece of equipment by misrepresenting the facts, and the coordinated timing of the media blitz. The health issues are incrementally, not catastrophically, worse. Changes in the F-22 life support systems relative to legacy jets may not have been adequate. We can identify and fix them in time. Meanwhile, tone down the training to match the pilot capability, on an individual basis if necessary. This jet is a useful tool in the US inventory as an intimidator in peace and a protector in war. This controversy is nonsense unless you look for the sinister.