{"id":34793,"date":"2018-08-01T17:55:10","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T17:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/01\/air-force-zeroing-in-on-cause-of-t-6-hypoxia-problem\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:05:11","slug":"air-force-zeroing-in-on-cause-of-t-6-hypoxia-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/08\/01\/air-force-zeroing-in-on-cause-of-t-6-hypoxia-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force zeroing in on cause of T-6 hypoxia problem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

JB SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas \u2014 Since late last year, a rash of unexplained physiological events<\/a> such as hypoxia has caused dangerous breathing problems<\/a> for pilots of T-6 Texan II training aircraft, and led to multiple groundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now, the Air Force is finding more clues, and coming closer to solving the problem<\/a> once and for all, said Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, head of Air Education and Training Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithin the next couple of months, you\u2019re going to see some communication from [the safety investigation board at Edwards Air Force Base in California], that they are starting to really discover the root cause here,\u201d Kwast said in a July 23 interview at his office here. \u201cWe\u2019re finding insights that we did not know before, that will help us understand what\u2019s going on and give us a pathway to solving the problem permanently. We\u2019re getting close, and you should see something soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Kwast said the board has discovered that the proportion of oxygen in the air sometimes fluctuates more than intended while T-6s are in flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo the question is, what does that do to the human body, when you have a fluctuation of oxygen?\u201d Kwast said. \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of work they\u2019re doing as they discover something that is a little \u2026 different than what we thought. Because we\u2019re measuring it with more precision; we do the work, the scientific method [to find out] \u2018What does that mean?\u2019 \u201d and what\u2019s causing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed, however, that oxygen fluctuation is only one of several possible issues the board is looking at, and that it\u2019s too soon to say whether it is actually causing or contributing to the problem. It could also be a combination of factors working together to cause the so-called unexplained physiological events, or UPEs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just one thing, and that\u2019s the problem with things like this,” Kwast said. \u201cTo be myopically focused on one thing like oxygen fluctuation does not account for the psychological piece, it does not account for the breathing habits piece, and the fact that this is a human-machine interaction that is a very complicated and complex system. … It may be contributory, but it may not be causal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast addresses Air Education and Training Command for the first time after assuming command on Nov. 16, 2017. (Sean Worrell\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The UPE problem has been frustrating the Air Force for months, and drawn criticism from lawmakers who have demanded Air Force officials do more to fix it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most recently, the 559th Flying Training Squadron at Randolph grounded its T-6s for a day in late June after pilots reported problems with the On-Board Oxygen Generating System, or OBOGS. The Air Force\u2019s entire Texan fleet was grounded for nearly all of February after 13 pilots at three bases had unexplained physiological events during the last week of January.<\/p>\n\n\n\t