F-22’s Balky Vests Add Clue in Mystery of Ailing Pilots
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A potentially faulty pressure vest is the latest clue in a yearlong mystery over why Air Force pilots flying Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-22 Raptor keep getting dizzy and disoriented.
Pilots have been instructed to stop using the vest during routine flight operations as the Air Force works on a fix, the service’s Air Combat Command said yesterday. The vest, part of a “G suit” used to help pilots avoid blacking out during high-speed maneuvers, “increases the difficulty of pilot breathing under certain circumstances,” according to an e-mailed statement.