In light of recent reports of pilots getting sick while flying the Air Force’s premiere fighter jet, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta mandated yesterday that all F-22 flights “remain within the proximity of potential landing locations” to ensure the ability to recover and land should a pilot run into “unanticipated physiological conditions.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who has been fighting for action to be taken to address the issue, calls Secretary Panetta’s decision a “good first step” on Starting Point this morning.
Although Kinzinger notes that he believes that the full resources of the Air Force are being used to address the safety problems, he says that he thinks a “much bigger task force” needs to be assigned to the investigation.
“I think what’s disturbing about this is that with all of the intensity people have put into finding [the issue], we haven’t been able to pinpoint the problem yet,” Rep. Kinzinger says.