WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has approved an Air Force plan to begin lifting flight restrictions on the F-22 stealth fighter jet, after the ongoing correction of oxygen-deficit problems that grounded and restricted the fleet for months.
Pentagon press secretary George Little said Tuesday that the Pentagon has “very high confidence that we’ve identified the issue” with the mysterious oxygen-depletion problem that caused some F-22 pilots to feel dizzy and experience other symptoms of hypoxia.
The Air Force now believes that a key problem was a valve in the pilots’ pressure vest that caused it to inflate and remain inflated, triggering breathing problems.
In mid-May, Panetta ordered that F-22 flights remain “within proximity of potential landing locations” so pilots could land quickly if they experienced a lack of oxygen.
Front Section, Pages 7 on 07/25/2012