The Air Force Has Grounded All Of Its B-1Bs Over A Fault In Their Ejection Seats
An investigation into an in-flight emergency in May 2018 turned up the issue and the service doesn't know when the jets will be back flying sorties.
By Joseph TrevithickJune 8, 2018
The U.S. Air Force has grounded its entire fleet of B-1B Bone bombers due to unspecified concerns about the aircraft's ejection seats and has no fixed timeline for when it will clear the planes to fly again. The decision comes as an investigation continues into an emergency landing involving the type in May 2018 and amid growing concerns about the readiness of the U.S. military aviation communities as a whole.
U.S. Air Force General Robin Rand, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees all of the service's combat-coded bombers, ordered the so-called "stand-down" on June 7, 2018. On May 1, 2018, a B-1B bomber assigned to the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base made an emergency landing at Midland International Air and Space Port in Midland, Texas after declaring an in-flight emergency. The incident involved a fire in one of the aircraft's engines and resulted in an emergency exit hatch coming off in mid-air.
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/20995/the-air-force-has-grounded-all-of-its-b-1bs-over-a-fault-in-their-ejection-seats
