Navy: 4 F/A-18 pilot deaths tied to oxygen system failures

[rangerrebew]

Navy: 4 F/A-18 pilot deaths tied to oxygen system failures
The Navy said it now intends to look at all the oxygen system components on its jets

    yesterday at 12:29 pm


WASHINGTON — Four pilot deaths have been tied to oxygen system failures in the cockpits of F/A-18 Hornets, the Navy revealed Thursday in an in-depth review of oxygen problems plaguing its fighter and trainer jets.

The review was launched in late March after instructor pilots at Navy training bases in Kingsville, Texas, Meridian, Miss., and Pensacola, Fla., refused to fly with students in T-45 trainer jets because “concern about contaminated breathing air reached a tipping point” after a sharp increase in the number of reported cases of hypoxia or related incidents. Hypoxia is when enough oxygen fails to reach body tissue and can lead to disorientation, loss of consciousness or death.

https://www.military1.com/misconduct-internal-affairs/article/1785036014-navy-4-fa-18-pilot-deaths-tied-to-oxygen-system-failures/

[Smokin Joe]

What gives? Didn't F-22s have a problem with this also?

[rangerrebew]

What gives? Didn't F-22s have a problem with this also?

The Navy trainers also have the problem.

[Smokin Joe]

The Navy trainers also have the problem.

Chinese components? Sensors? If they didn't have it before, what changed?

[EC]

Chinese components? Sensors? If they didn't have it before, what changed?

The engines and the airframes. They're too efficient. You rely on the primary fans to compress the air up to roughly 20 PSI, then bleed some of that off as breathing air for the pilots. That in turn relies on the engine being inefficient enough to have an excess to bleed off in the first place. Which can't really happen because, in the interests of a low radar signature, the intakes are physically much smaller than formerly.

It's a catch 22. The plane can't perform to it's maximum because the pilot needs to breath.

[Smokin Joe]

The engines and the airframes. They're too efficient. You rely on the primary fans to compress the air up to roughly 20 PSI, then bleed some of that off as breathing air for the pilots. That in turn relies on the engine being inefficient enough to have an excess to bleed off in the first place. Which can't really happen because, in the interests of a low radar signature, the intakes are physically much smaller than formerly.

It's a catch 22. The plane can't perform to it's maximum because the pilot needs to breath.

I thought the trainers were older models. Have they been upgraded to the point where they can't put enough O₂ in to the pilot? How about a small LOX tank to bleed supplemental O2 in from?

[EC]

I thought the trainers were older models. Have they been upgraded to the point where they can't put enough O₂ in to the pilot? How about a small LOX tank to bleed supplemental O2 in from?

Don't know about the upgrades, but final training is done on the real deals.

I'll have to ask about the small tank - I know some aircraft have them already, but fighters - I doubt there's enough space to fit a shoe into their skin. See them with the panels off and they're virtually solid other than the fuel tanks themselves. It's gotten bad enough that some of the avionics are being mounted in the outer wings now since there's no where else to put them.

[Smokin Joe]

Don't know about the upgrades, but final training is done on the real deals.

I'll have to ask about the small tank - I know some aircraft have them already, but fighters - I doubt there's enough space to fit a shoe into their skin. See them with the panels off and they're virtually solid other than the fuel tanks themselves. It's gotten bad enough that some of the avionics are being mounted in the outer wings now since there's no where else to put them.

We used to find the old B-17/B-24 oxygen tanks washed up on shore that someone had bought up surplus and used as mooring bouys. That was a big score when we were kids...I wish I'd have kept half that stuff, but I don't know where I'd put it.