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Luke AFB: F-35 flights remain paused due to oxygen issue

Luke AFB: F-35 flights remain paused due to oxygen issue
Posted at 11:35 AM, Jun 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-16 16:07:07-04

Luke Air Force Base officials say a week-old temporary halt to flights of F-35 fighter jets at the Arizona base will continue as officials continue to research a series of incidents in which pilots reported symptoms of oxygen deprivation.

The 56th Fighter Wing at Luke said Friday that officials are collecting and studying data and will continue to assess the situation through the weekend.

The Air Force on June 9 announced the pause of F-35 flights at Luke in the wake of five separate in-flight incidents involving reports of hypoxia since May 2.

 

According to the Air Force, the F-35's backup oxygen system in each instance worked as designed and the pilot was able to land the plane safely.