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Oxygen worries on F-22 fighters spark stand-down

Published: May 6, 2011

The first official wave of F-22 Raptors for the 90th Fighter Squadron arrived on Wednesday, August 8, 2007, during a welcoming ceremony at Elmendorf AFB. The F-22 Raptor is the Air Force's newest fighter aircraft with a unique combination of stealth, supercruise, maneuverability, and integrated avionics to perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. Elmendorf is the second operational base for the aircraft.

Photo by BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily NewsBuy Photo

By The Associated Press

The U.S. Air Force has stopped flying its fleet of F-22 Raptor jets because of concerns with the oxygen supply system onboard the stealth fighters.

Gen. William Fraser, the head of Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, issued the directive this week. Master Sgt. Pamela Anderson with the command's public affairs office said Friday that the fleet is on stand-down because of "hypoxialike" events reported by some pilots. Hypoxia occurs when the body receives too little oxygen.

Since January, the Raptor fleet has been restricted from flying above 25,000 feet because of concerns with the oxygen supply system aboard the fighter jets.

Last November, an F-22 pilot was killed in Alaska when he lost control of his jet during a training exercise.

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