No Air: Why Weren't the F-22's Oxygen Problems Detected in Testing?

Transcription

1 U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor - POGO News May 06, 2011 No Air: Why Weren't the F-22's Oxygen Problems Detected in Testing? By Mandy Smithberger The DEW Line's Stephen Trimble broke the news that the F-22 fleet is standing down "until further notice" due to concerns about a glitch in the on board oxygen system after pilots complained about hypoxia and decompression sickness (indicating they weren't getting enough oxygen). An Air Force source told Defense News in March that defects with the On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS) may have been responsible for a F-22 crash that occurred in November, killing Capt. Jeffery Haney. Why wasn't this worked out in testing? A review of annual reports from the director of Operational Testing and Evaluation (DOT&E) didn't uncover any mentions of oxygen issues, with the exception of a 2004 report noting that the contractor measured oxygen concentrations during simulated high-altitude mission profiles at their simulator system facility. Former DOT&E Director Tom Christie told POGO he didn't recall problems with the system and that they could have been relatively easily fixed if they had been detected. According to Flight Global, Boeing led life support development, including the OBOGS. 1

2 POGO has not been able to find other information on testing for the F-22's OBOGS, but simulation would not be sufficient to test the system. "It's not something you simulate," Christie told POGO. "It either works or it doesn't." Even when these systems are working, an interview with aerospace and operational physiologist Capt. Matthew Taranto at the Las Vegas Sun explains that pilots must train their bodies to be able to tolerate 15 seconds of intense acceleration pressing down on them (9 G-forces) to resist oxygen deprivation to their brain. The Navy recently awarded contractor Cobham a contract to develop a more advanced OBOGS system. It appears Cobham did not create the F-22's system, but did install the OBOGS for the A-10, F/A-18, V-22, C-130, and F-16. This post builds upon this morning's smoke that the F-22 fleet has been grounded until further notice. UPDATE: Stephen Trimble at the DEW Line has more information confirming that the stand down caused by problems with the Honeywell onboard oxygen generation system (OBOGS) is linked to the crash in Alaska. End Mandy Smithberger is a POGO investigator. ********** Flight Global News May 2011 Oxygen system concerns prompt F-22 stand-down By: Stephen Trimble Washington DC 09:32 5 May 2011 Source: The US Air Force has stopped flying all Lockheed Martin F-22s for an indefinite period over concerns about a possible glitch in the onboard oxygen generation system. The stand-down order issued on 3 May by Air Combat Command (ACC) chief Gen Will Fraser comes about six weeks after the F-22s were restricted to flying below 25,000ft due to the same problem. The order is in effect until "further notice", the ACC says. "The standown is a prudent measure following recent reports of oxygen system malfunction," Fraser said in a statement. 2

3 While the F-22s remain parked, investigation teams will continue to determine the cause of the malfunction, the statement added. The ACC emphasized that the stand-down order is technically not considered a "grounding", which occurs only in response to a catastrophic technical issue. A stand-down is voluntary and precautionary. Despite keeping the F-22s on the ground, ACC believes the stand-down order will not change the air force's ability to perform missions such as air superiority alert. The F-22 is still available for "national security directed missions", the ACC said. One-time flights can also be approve by the heads of major commands, including repositioning flights. The air force has been flying the F-22s operationally for more than five years, with more than 150 already in service. All 186 F-22s on order are expected to be delivered by early next year. End ***** Flight Global News May 9, 2012 USAF moves closer to solving Raptor oxygen woes, whistle-blower pilots won t be punished By: Dave Majumdar Washington DC 03:16 9 May 2012 Source: The US Air Force will not punish two F-22 Raptor pilots who publicly spoke out about problems with the Lockheed Martin-built aircraft's oxygen system, a senior service official tells Congress. Moreover, the USAF is getting close to solving the mystery behinds a series of hypoxia-like events that have plagued the Raptor fleet. "We have some recent data that we are starting to believe we are coming to closure on that root cause," says Lt Gen Janet Wolfenbarger, military deputy to the USAF acquisitions chief. "We are realizing that we operate this aircraft differently than we operate any of our other fighter aircraft." The Raptor flies higher than other fighters and also manoeuvers at high G-forces at those extreme altitudes, she says. 3

4 US Air Force Under USAF regulations, the Boeing F-15 Eagles and Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcons are limited to 50,000 ft-though they rarely operate that high up. The F-22 routinely operates above 50,000 ft up to an operational ceiling of 60,000 ft. Raptor pilots receive a waiver to fly above the 50,000 ft mark-their Combat Edge anti-g ensemble is ostensibly considered to be a partial pressure suit. 60,000 ft is the limit due to the Armstrong Line, which sits at about 62,000 ft to 63,000 ft. At altitudes above the Armstrong Line the atmospheric pressure so low that water will boil at human body temperature--37 C (98.6 F). The USAF has looked at hundreds of potential root causes of the problem, but the two most likely culprits are either some sort of contaminant or a problem with the oxygen flow to the pilot, Wolfenbarger says. She insists that the Raptor is safe to fly. There have been 11 hypoxia-like incidents since the F-22 starting flying again in September, which is less than 0.1% of sorties. Wolfenbarger says that Virginia Air National Guard pilots Captain Josh Wilson and Major Jeremy Gordon will be protected under US whistle-blower protection statues. "My understanding is that the chief [of staff Gen Norton Schwartz] and secretary of the air force [Michael Donley] have issued direction that these individuals are protected," she says. Meanwhile the USAF has agreed to consider future F-22 upgrades starting with Increment 3.2B as separate procurements from the acquisition of the aircraft themselves, Wolfenbarger says. That was done at the behest of the Government Accountability Office, which says those upgrades will cost $9.7 billion plus another $2 billion for airframe reliability modifications. 4

5 The USAF though has started to transition aircraft sustainment into a new joint military-contractor effort, which should save the service over $1 billion, she says. End ******* Air Force IDs pilot missing after F-22 crash By Dan Joling - The Associated Press Posted : Friday Nov 19, :02:40 EST ANCHORAGE, Alaska The Air Force on Thursday identified a pilot missing after the crash of an F- 22 Raptor as military officials worked to set up camps off the Denali Highway in interior Alaska in preparation for a ground search. Capt. Jeffrey Haney is assigned to the 525th Fighter Squadron, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson spokeswoman Corinna Jones said. He is from Jackson, Mich. Haney, who is married with two children, joined the Air Force in 2003 and has been at the Anchorage base for 4½ years, Jones said. READ MORE Search crews will set up camps in forest Search for F-22 pilot continues Air Force finds wreckage of missing F-22 Air Force personnel planned to search south of the highway, a 134-mile mostly gravel road that runs east from Cantwell, near the entrance to Denali National Park, to Paxson on the Richardson Highway. "We've got a pretty big logistical operation going on right now, getting equipment, supplies and personnel up to the crash site," said John Pennell, another spokesman for the Anchorage base. The F-22, a single-seat jet, took off Tuesday from the joint Air Force and Army base for a training run. Discuss Search for Raptor pilot 5

6 The aircraft and a second F-22 practiced individual "intercepts" and were nearing completion of the mission when one jet disappeared from ground radar tracking and from communications with the other aircraft at 7:40 p.m. Searchers found the crash site Wednesday morning about 100 miles north of Anchorage and an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter was able to land with pararescuemen that afternoon. An air search has continued, looking for a parachute or a fire started by the pilot. The Air Force has not established whether the ejection seat was deployed. "We have not recovered enough of the aircraft yet to determine exactly whether or not the ejection seat was used," Pennell said. Airman 1st Class Christopher Gross said the Alaska Air National Guard was searching by helicopter and with an HC-130 airplane with the assistance of a RQ-4 Global Hawk, an unmanned surveillance aircraft. The Air Force flew gear Wednesday night to Eielson Air Force Base outside Fairbanks. "This morning, they moved to Fort Greely, where we are now transporting them to the site via Army helicopter," Pennell said. The Air Force will establish a camp along the highway as close to the crash site as possible, plus a forward operating area from which the search will be launched, Pennell said. An Air Force convoy and an Army convoy drove north Thursday from Anchorage but ran into bad weather and were expected to spend the night at Cantwell. Pennell could not say how far the crash site is from the highway but said it was in a "remote, pretty rugged" area in what looked to be a creek bed between two mountains. "It adds to the logistics of getting people there and sustaining them for a long search," he said. End 6