By Valerie Insinna August 30 A wing commander at Luke Air Force Base on Wednesday lifted an altitude restriction on F-35 flights at the Arizona base, but Air Force investigators are no closer to understanding what prompted five incidents of pilot oxygen deprivation earlier this summer. Between May 2 and June 8, five different Luke […]
By Lara Seligman September 18, 2017 The U.S. Air Force is making changes to F-35 flight equipment to make breathing easier for pilots, as the Pentagon continues searching for a root cause of five hypoxia-like cockpit incidents in the new fighter at an Arizona Air Force base… [FULL ARTICLE]
By Perry Vandell June 19, 2017 F-35s at Luke Air Force Base will scream across the sky again on Wednesday. Officials at the Glendale base announced Monday that they will lift the flight suspension that grounded its 55 F-35s since June 9 after five pilots complained of hypoxia-like symptoms over a five-week span. Symptoms ranged from dizziness to tingling in […]
July 14, 2017 Another pilot in Arizona experienced lightheadedness and breathing difficulties this week, Arizona Central reported Thursday. The event took place on Monday, a spokesman told AZ Central, which is owned by USA Today. Last month, several squadrons of F-35 jets at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, were grounded following multiple episodes of hypoxia in the month of May. The oxygen […]
By Tyler Rogoway July 10, 2017 Seminar by F-35 testers details tense nighttime carrier vertical landing that almost went wrong and the breaking off of a F-35B’s refueling probe tip during tanker trials. A video from Flight Test Safety Committee’s conference early last May offers a fascinating insight into the F-35 test program. A talk put on […]
By Oriana Pawlyk June 15, 2017 More than a dozen Air Force F-35 pilots experienced oxygen deprivation symptoms between 2011 and this year, the service disclosed Thursday as it investigates a steady uptick of hypoxia-related incidents at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It marked the first time many of the cases had been disclosed publicly. In a statement […]
By Valerie Insinna July 12, 2017 U.S. Air Force investigators have found that last September’s F-35A mishap at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, was indeed an uncontained engine fire — albeit one started because of tailwinds present during engine start, not deficiencies with the aircraft’s Pratt and Whitney F135 engine. According to a U.S. […]
By Oriana Pawlyk June 9, 2017 The Air Force has grounded all F-35 Joint Strike Fighters at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, after pilots complained of hypoxia-related issues, officials said Friday. “The 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, canceled local flying operations today for F-35A Lightning II aircraft due to a series of five incidents in which […]
By Perry Vandell June 10, 2017 The Air Force on Friday stopped flying F-35 fighter jets at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale after a series of incidents in which pilots reported symptoms of hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation. Air Force spokesman Capt. Mark Graff said the temporary halt followed five separate in-flight incidents since May 2. […]
By Perry Vandell June 12, 2017 Luke Air Force Base officials announced Monday that flight operations will be indefinitely suspended as its team of engineers and maintenance specialists continue to investigate the rash of hypoxia-like symptoms some pilots reported. The high-priced jets were grounded Friday at the Glendale base after five separate in-flight incidents since May 2 in which […]