Military doctor and US Air Force Colonel Jay Flottmann called the possible cause of "physiological episodes", that is, the inexplicable deterioration of the health of the pilots during overloads, during the operation of American fighter aircraft.

This is reported by lenta. ru with reference to Aviation Week.

Colonel made three flights to the F / A-18 Hornet US Navy. One test was conducted on a model equipped with an old system with liquid oxygen LOX, the other two aircraft were equipped with oxygen stations OBOGS.

The expert believes that "physiological episodes", in particular dizziness, tingling of fingers and visual impairment, arise due to the interaction of the fighter aircraft system, the physical conditions of flight and the crew's equipment. Together they have a "profound effect" on the physiological systems of man.

Flottmann points out that the crew equipment and preflight tolerances of the Air Force and the US Navy are different. So, the second do not check the pilot's mask for the possibility of oxygen leakage. Also in the Navy, it is customary to tighten the breast strap more strongly, and the main load from the equipment of the vest (walkie-talkie and first-aid kit) is distributed between the anterior and lateral parts of the abdomen. This contributes to a feeling of additional squeezing of the chest and small difficulties in breathing even before takeoff, says the doctor.

He notes that the OBOGS during the period of loading supplies air too sharply, which affects breathing. Observed during one of the flights after small overloads, cough indicates atelectasis caused by high loads, compressing the breast with a suit and uneven oxygen intake.

"I am convinced that the increased oxygen content in the respiratory gas [in both systems] in combination with the work of the respiratory regulator CRU-103 adversely affects human performance," said Flottmann. The expert recommended that the Navy establish a more smooth operation of the device and adjust the concentration of supplied oxygen, and also explore how the wear of equipment affects breathing. Similar activities were previously conducted by the Air Force.

The doctor notes that his completed flights to the F / A-18 Hornet are not enough for unambiguous conclusions about the nature of "physiological episodes".

The opinion of the US Air Force Colonel, who has extensive flight experience on the F-15 Eagle and F-22 Raptor fighters, as well as the T-38 Talon training aircraft, confirms the conclusion of the team of the NASA Engineering and Technology Center investigating the worsening of the well-being of the pilots. In it, Flottmann also enters.

Over the past few years, "physiological episodes" have been recorded on the F-A-18 Hornet, EA-18G Growler, T-45 Goshawk and F-35 Lightning II.

Earlier Aviation Week noted that the US Air Force for the past few months recorded a significant surge of such incidents. If in the period 2006-2016 the military counted 10 episodes, then by 2017 their number on the F-35 Lightning II has grown to 20.