Pesky flaw grounds advanced U.S. jets
Published: 21, 2007 at 3:46 PM
OGDEN, Utah, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A chronic design flaw of the U.S. Air Force's FA-22 Raptor jet has grounded the advanced aircraft until they can be repaired.
Air Force officials have ordered the all of the planes to undergo the necessary fixes at Utah's Hill Air Force Base, The Salt Lake Tribune said Sunday.
The problem is with the jets' mechanical access panels, which make the aircraft highly susceptible to corrosion. While the flaw was originally noticed years ago, subsequent changes did little to stem the problem from re-occurring, leaving some officials frustrated.
"So the world's most expensive, most advanced aircraft is in the shop for repairs for something simple that someone figured out a long time ago?" Project On Government Oversight investigator Nick Schwellenbach said.
"I'd like to say I was outraged, and it is outrageous, but it's all too common."
The Tribune said each aircraft cost nearly $390 million once the total research, development and production costs are factored in.