Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

F-35 Ejection Seat Fears Ground Lightweight Pilots

Posted by timothy on from the it's-the-little-things dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Writing for Defense News, Lara Seligman and Aaron Mehta report that "[c]oncerns about increased risk of injury to F-35 pilots during low-speed ejections have prompted the US military services to temporarily restrict pilots who weigh less than 136 pounds from flying the aircraft. During August tests of the ejection seat, built by Martin-Baker, testers discovered an increased risk of neck injury when a lightweight pilot is flying at slower speeds. Until the problem is fixed, the services decided to restrict pilots weighing under 136 pounds from operating the plane, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, F-35 integration office director, told Defense News in a Tuesday interview."

2 of 179 comments (clear)

  1. The F-35 is having problems? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And yet another bug in the slow-motion uber-expensive train-wreck that is the F-35 program.

  2. Re:136 lbs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Exactly... I mean, Tom Cruise is a pretty small guy, so that makes sense.