(CBS News) The F-22 Raptor is America's most advanced fighter plane. It ought to be: Each one costs $143 million.
However, for months something mysterious has been happening to F-22 pilots in flight, putting them in jeopardy.
The
F-22 is on a very short leash. After first being grounded, the world's
most sophisticated and expensive jet fighter is flying again, but
limited to flights within 30 minutes of a landing field.
The
reason: A mysterious problem that without warning has caused pilots to
suffer hypoxia - become disoriented from lack of oxygen. Over the past
10 months, says Col. Kevin Robbins, commander of the First Fighter Wing
at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, there have been 11 incidents of
hypoxia.
"No
one has gotten to the point where they're completely, where they're
delirious. They're still able to function, still able to bring the
aircraft back safely," Col. Robbins says.
CBS News
correspondent David Martin experienced hypoxia first hand in an F-22
simulator as Maj. Tom Massa reduced the flow of oxygen to his mask. It
is like being dizzy.
When it got too bad, Martin pulled
the emergency oxygen, and only then did he realize how far downhill his
ability to function had gone. When he thought his simulated flight was
going straight and level, he was actually continuing to climb.
The real F-22 can pull 9 Gs, subjecting the pilot to a force nine times the weight of gravity.
One standard piece of equipment is an inflatable vest. It provides chest counter-pressure during rapid decompression.
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