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F-35 Ejection Seats Under Scrutiny

Pentagon Restricts Pilots Under 136 Pounds From Flying The Aircraft

The Pentagon has restricted pilots weighing less than 136 pounds from flying the F-35 because of an issue with the ejection seat. Tests have shown that below that weight, the seat would rotate too far forward during a low-speed ejection, possibly causing neck and back injuries.

Reuters reports that, according to a story that first appeared in the trade publication Defense News, the restriction went into place August 27th. The plane is designed to be flown by pilots weighing as little as 109 pounds.

The seats are made by the Martin Baker Aircraft Corp. based in the U.K.

"The safety of our pilots is paramount and the F-35 Joint Program Office, Lockheed Martin, and Martin Baker continue to work this issue with the U.S. services and international partners to reach a solution as quickly as possible," said Pentagon F-35 program office spokesman Joe DellaVedova. He said that the program is still in developmental testing, which is intended to find problems such as this prior to final production.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.jsf.mil

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