Finally. 60 minutes woke someone up.....
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Re: F-22. Breaking news
About time those-in-charge realized that our fighter pilots cannot do their best to defend our country if they are distracted with the thoughts that their very own aircraft might betray them. Who could? -
Re: F-22. Breaking news
You bet. And its about time they got the blanky blank auto backup oxegen system installed. And I hope they actually record the sensors that would set it off. They might even learn something.Originally posted by AirDOGGe View PostComment
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Re: F-22. Breaking news
Some details are beginning to filter down to us.
Here's some, located on an Air Force news website:
Medical Official Explains F-22 Pilot-Protection Efforts
Carbon Dust Was Found In Raptor Air Filtration System
Air Force officials have instituted measures designed to protect its pilots, ensure mission completion and assess the possible physiological effects of flying the F-22 Raptor, the command surgeon for Air Combat Command said May 9. "The health and safety of our pilots -- all of our pilots -- is the utmost priority," said Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Daniel O. Wyman. "Our operational flight surgeons and medical staff interact with our pilots on a daily basis, and mission No. 1 is their health and safety."
Before resuming F-22 flights in September 2011 after a safety stand-down, Wyman said, officials collected baseline blood samples and pulmonary function tests from every pilot. "We had every pilot go through retraining with the reduced oxygen breathing device so that they would experience and know their own specific 'hypoxia symptoms,'" he said, adding that the command also incorporated a pilot pulse oximeter and the C2A1 filter as protective measures.
Designed and certified by the Defense Department for the chemical warfare environment, Wyman said, the C2A1 filter canister was incorporated into the pilot's life support system to filter any potential contaminants from the air they breathed. The filter has been tested against military and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health protocols and found to be effective against a number of different chemical warfare and industrial chemicals. "It was cleared for flight use by the U.S. Air Force program office and has been used by the military for over a decade in the ground crew and aircrew ensembles," he added.
For each flight, the pilot would receive a new C2A1 filter consisting of a high-efficiency particulate, or HEPA, air filter and activated carbon and charcoal, Wyman said, and they turned in the filters at the end of each flight. Once flying resumed, Wyman said, a black dust was found in some of the breathing hoses near the C2A1 filter. "We analyzed it and found it to be activated carbon dust ... an inert or nonreactive compound that has been used for air and water filtration for decades without any significant evidence of harm," Wyman said.
Filter test results indicated the amount of activated carbon dust liberated during normal use was well below the industrial hygiene standard levels set by government agencies, the command surgeon said.
Thirty pilot throat swab samples examined by electron microscope also indicated no evidence of activated carbon, he added. Still, some Raptor pilots have reported suffering persistent coughing, which Wyman maintained may stem from high concentrations of oxygen while undergoing spiked G-forces during maneuvering. These conditions, he said, may result in adsorption of the oxygen -- adhesion of a small layer of molecules -- and subsequent microcollapse of some of the small air sacs in the lungs. "Coughing is a natural physiologic response that serves to re-inflate the air sacs," Wyman said, noting the condition typically occurs following the flight and is brief in duration.
Air Combat Command officials have implemented a "recognize-confirm-recover" approach to fortify safety measures, Wyman said. In addition to training that helps ensure pilots can more readily recognize hypoxia or hypoxia-like symptoms, fliers can also pull an emergency oxygen ring, then descend to an altitude at which hypoxia would not occur, he said.
Wyman stressed that the command will continue to evaluate for other potential contaminates or environmental or aircraft system factors through the use of sensors and other collection devices.
No root cause has yet been discovered, he said. "Every step of the way during the F-22 return-to-fly, we have worked with our pilots and all of our personnel involved to inspect the fleet, train the force, protect the crews and collect and analyze data," Wyman said.
.Last edited by AirDOGGe; 05-16-2012, 08:41 PM.Comment
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Re: F-22. Breaking news
Thanks for posting this! I still like the idea of putting the auto O2 backup system on the fast track. In the state patrol, our HEPA masks are so good they can screen out large aromatic molecules, and that is how we test the fit fo the mask....if this is not an O2 problem and it is a noxious gas poisoning problem (aka carbon monoxide) then I hope they have sensors for that too.Comment
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Re: F-22. Breaking news
Another update
Panetta orders Air Force to take further steps on F-22
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFNS)
-- With safety remaining his top concern, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has ordered the Air Force to take additional steps to mitigate risks to F-22 pilots, George Little, acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, said May 15 during a Pentagon news conference.
Beginning in 2008, a few pilots experienced hypoxia-like symptoms when flying the aircraft, Little said. Hypoxia is a deficiency of oxygen. There have been a total of 12 cases of these hypoxia-like symptoms affecting pilots.
Little said the secretary has followed developments in the F-22 closely and has directed the Air Force to expedite the installation of an automatic backup oxygen system in all of the planes.
In addition, effective immediately, all F-22 flights will remain near potential landing locations to enable quick recovery and landing should a pilot encounter unanticipated physiological conditions during flight, Little said.
Finally, Panetta directed the Air Force to provide him with a monthly progress report as the service continues the search for the root cause of the problem.
These steps are in addition to the measures the Air Force is already taking to determine the root causes of the hypoxia-like symptoms pilots have experienced.
Panetta made this decision in part due to the reluctance of some pilots to fly the aircraft, Little said.
"Secretary Panetta believes the department must do everything possible to ensure pilot safety and minimize flight risks," Little said.
The secretary's directions take into account the need for determining the cause of the problem, while still allowing the military to use the unique capabilities provided by the F-22 Raptor. The aircraft are based in the United States and are now deployed to Southwest Asia, Little said. As the only fifth-generation aircraft in the world, he added, the plane is the most capable fighter in the air and is necessary to maintain U.S. air dominance.
"Safety is a zero-sum game," Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby said at the news conference. "The automatic backup oxygen system will complete testing by the end of November, with installation in line fighters beginning in December. Ten Raptors will be retrofitted with this system per month", he said.
Keeping the F-22 fleet flying allows the service to examine the aircraft closely.
"There's a troubleshooting process going on right now," Kirby said. "So the aircraft being in operation assists that process. We believe we've mitigated the risks as much as possible."
But safety is the paramount concern, he said, and if he needs to, the secretary will ground the fleet.
"But right now, he believes ... this is the right course," Kirby said.
The Air Force has been studying the problem since 2008.
"The root cause of hypoxia-like events has not been determined," Little said. "It is possible ... that it could be attributed to the oxygen system in the airplane, thus the installation of a backup system. But it could have other causes, too, and the Air Force is aggressively looking at other factors that could be contributing."Comment
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