AF extends F-35A stand-down

WASHINGTON - The Air Force has extended a stand-down of its F-35A variants at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona to determine the causes of five oxygen system failures in its new, fifth-generation fighter jet. Since May 2, five F-35A pilots at Luke AFB reported incidents of hypoxia - lack of oxygen to the brain. On June 9, the AF announced flights would temporarily cease to examine the incidents. On June 12, that stand-down was extended indefinitely, according to base spokesperson Maj. Rebecca Heyse. “The 56th Fighter Wing will continue their pause in local F-35A flying to coordinate analysis and communication between pilots, maintainers, medical professionals and a team of military and industry experts,” Heyse said in a prepared statement. The stand-down follows similar events with the Navy’s T-45C Goshawk trainer jets. The T-45 stand-down lasted more than two months. None of the Navy student-aviators who would be flying T-45s at Naval Air Stations Pensacola, Fla., Meridian, Miss., and Kingsville, Texas, have returned to using the aircraft, the Navy said last week. Oxygen system failures similarly grounded F-22 Raptors in 2011. In 2013, the Pentagon’s IG issued a critical report of an AF investigation into the oxygen system’s potential role in an F-22 crash in Alaska in 2010 that killed pilot Capt. Jeff Haney. (Source: Stars and Stripes 06/12/17) Gulf Coast Note: Capt. Haney had previously undergone Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus (Miss.) AFB where he had won the Distinguished Graduate award, Flying Excellence Award, and coveted Air Education Training Command’s Commander's Trophy.