Officers Ordered A "Pause" In Operational Status At Two Bases

The USAF's full fleet of F-22 Raptors is flying again after a brief "pause" in its operational status. Raptors at two bases had been grounded for a time last week following an oxygen issues experienced by a pilot flying out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia.

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The airplanes based at Langley and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska  were affected by the grounding. The Air Force Times reports that a wing commander would only confirm that a "physiological event" occurred October 20th resulting in the stand down.

The planes based in Alaska began flying again Monday, while the grounding at the Virginia base was lifted Tuesday. Other aircraft in the fleet continued flying on a normal schedule. 

The fleet had only been cleared to resume normal operations about a month ago. Air Force investigators had grounded the entire fleet in may due to issues with the oxygen system in the planes. No cause for the problems has ever been determined. When flying was resumed, Air Force brass allowed individual commanders the leeway to ground the planes if it was determined there was a safety issue. The Air Force said it is continuing to collect data on the aircraft in an effort to determine the source of the oxygen issues.

FMI: www.af.mil