Air Force cover-up? Family of deceased pilot cries foul

Air Force cover-up? Family of deceased pilot cries foul

rt.com

The US Defense Department says they have "clear and convincing evidence" that pilot Jeff Haney caused the crash of a stealth F-22 Raptor jet in 2010 that ended his life. His family, however, suggests that the Pentagon isn’t providing the truth.

In the last nine months the Air Force has been made aware of at least nine separate incidents where pilots just like Captain Haney have complained of symptoms similar to those linked with hypoxia, a condition where the brain is deprived of oxygen.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
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Capt. Jeff Haney, 31, of Clarklake, Mich., died after his F-22 suddenly broke off communication during a night training flight with another F-22 on November 16, 2010. The military is accusing the Captain of pilot error in the incident.

The family is suing stating "that the aircraft was sold with known defective on-board oxygen generating system, bleed air system and other life support systems. “The life support systems of the F-22 Raptor aircraft were and are completely and wholly inadequate,”the lawsuit states."


Is this accusation of pilot error by the government only a cover-up to a faulty 143 dollar fighter jet?

There is the distinct possibility that the corporate led US cares more for the image of Boeing and Lockheed than they do their own pilots and their memories when killed due to the mechanical failure of such multi-million dollar machines. Pilots should be happy to fly such a plane, but reports they are refusing says a lot, and it speaks volumes about the death of this American pilot and the governments concerns for corporate America verses the men and women of the armed forces.

rt.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Jameela


Well, this is worth exploring further. Can you get a member of the family to post on this thread, tell the story, and then answer questions? Condolences to the family too, if anyone from it happens to read this

And please consider editing your initial post here to include more data (when this happened, where it happened, more quotes from the article, etc.) Thanks..

I would not be surprised. The Govt. frequently covers up information when it comes to jet crashes.

About five years ago, I was a 1st responder to a Blue Angel crash at an air show. The pilot died, and the crash was blamed on pilot error. But the pilot had the presence of mind to bring the jet down in a pond, anywhere else within 200 yds. would have resulted in many civilian injuries and casualties.

It was my job to locate any explosive hazards and make them safe. The ejection seat did not function completely, though it did eventually eject. Only the drogue chute deployed. The Canopy of the aircraft did not pop off until the pilot went through it. The fire suppression system did not function, and there was plenty of fire.

Now this last part is just hearsay, but I have a friend who used to be an aircraft mechanic in the Airforce. She told me that they were given the opportunity to work on the Blue Angels, and they were literally given buckets of parts and told "Here ya go." She also said that a lot of the paperwork for those jets is forged. Now remember those Birds are 40 - 50 yrs. old. So she wanted nothing to do with it, and they were all gonna go to jail.

So take that for what it's worth. But I have no problem believing the Govt. is covering stuff up.

reply to post by Aleister


I edited the post and added additional background information.

As to your request, I do not know any family members. But ABC news did a piece on this and in their report they did a short interview the family of the deceased.

Originally posted by watchitburn
I would not be surprised. The Govt. frequently covers up information when it comes to jet crashes.

About five years ago, I was a 1st responder to a Blue Angel crash at an air show. The pilot died, and the crash was blamed on pilot error. But the pilot had the presence of mind to bring the jet down in a pond, anywhere else within 200 yds. would have resulted in many civilian injuries and casualties.

It was my job to locate any explosive hazards and make them safe. The ejection seat did not function completely, though it did eventually eject. Only the drogue chute deployed. The Canopy of the aircraft did not pop off until the pilot went through it. The fire suppression system did not function, and there was plenty of fire.

Now this last part is just hearsay, but I have a friend who used to be an aircraft mechanic in the Airforce. She told me that they were given the opportunity to work on the Blue Angels, and they were literally given buckets of parts and told "Here ya go." She also said that a lot of the paperwork for those jets is forged. Now remember those Birds are 40 - 50 yrs. old. So she wanted nothing to do with it, and they were all gonna go to jail.

So take that for what it's worth. But I have no problem believing the Govt. is covering stuff up.

I believe it is a money game, and US politicians are making tons of money from Lockheed and Boeing... this article discusses Lockheed alone stating:

the company receives one of every 14 dollars doled out by the Pentagon. In fact, its government contracts, thought about another way, amount to a “Lockheed Martin tax” of $260 per taxpaying household in the United States, and no weapons contractor has more power or money to wield to defend its turf. It spent $12 million on congressional lobbying and campaign contributions in 2009 alone.

Not surprisingly, it’s the top contributor to the incoming House Armed Services Committee chairman, Republican Howard P. “Buck” McKeon of California, giving more than $50,000 in the most recent election cycle. It also tops the list of donors to Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), the powerful chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the self-described “#1 earmarks guy in the U.S. Congress.”

Add to all that its 140,000 employees and its claim to have facilities in 46 states, and the scale of its clout starts to become clearer. While the bulk of its influence-peddling activities may be perfectly legal, the company also has quite a track record when it comes to law-breaking: it ranks number one on the “contractor misconduct” database maintained by the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington-DC-based watchdog group.

After reading only this article, you begin to see money to the US government means more than any pilot or product safety. And we haven't even touched on Boeing yet, as both Lockheed and Boeing were teamed up on this Raptor project.

reply to post by watchitburn

Now remember those Birds are 40 - 50 yrs. old. So she wanted nothing to do with it, and they were all gonna go to jail.

More like 30 years for the F/A-18.

reply to post by watchitburn

As a pilot, I can give general statistics. 90% of all aviation accidents are pilot error. The other 10%
are due to other factors like weather,mech failure etc
My condolrnces to his family.

Originally posted by Angelic Resurrection
reply to post by watchitburn

 

As a pilot, I can give general statistics. 90% of all aviation accidents are pilot error. The other 10%
are due to other factors like weather,mech failure etc
My condolrnces to his family.

Did you investigate all these accidents personally or do you rely on data which is gathered by "independent" from government source? No matter how you put it...airforce accidents statistics are provided by the government.

reply to post by gariac


Thank you I stand corrected. They started going into service in 1978.

reply to post by Angelic Resurrection


I am definitely not a pilot, So I will take you word for general causes of aircraft crashes. I was just relating the facts of that one incident. The weather was perfect that day, not a cloud in the sky.

www.flightglobal.com...
the above link may be of interest to someone

Some AF pilots have begun to refuse to fly the F-22 because of the oxygen/hypoxia issues.

www.stripes.com...

reply to post by bg_socalif


Yeah, this isn't a new issue. The F-22s have had some serious problems. I think I'd trust a Spitfire over an F-22 any day. At least the flight control systems on a piston plane don't crash and reboot when you cross the International Date Line.

Originally posted by ShadeWolf
. At least the flight control systems on a piston plane don't crash and reboot when you cross the International Date Line.

Heck I wonder why it is programmed in such a way. only the date changes at the IDL