Exclusive: Panetta's F-22 Raptor Order Too Late to Save Pilot, Sister Says

May 16, 2012 — -- The flight restrictions and safety measures for the F-22 Raptor fighter jet ordered by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta may help protect other pilots, but they come far too late to save the life of one of America's best airmen, the pilot's family said.

Jennifer Haney, the sister of the late Capt. Jeff Haney, told ABC News that the new measures announced Tuesday -- in particular the expedited implementation of an automatic emergency back-up oxygen system -- would've meant the difference between life and death for her brother, had they been ordered more than a year ago.

"It would've saved Jeff's life," said Jennifer Haney, who acts as family spokesperson. "My brother would be alive if this would've been something that was in the F-22 from the get-go."

"I can't believe [the Air Force] thought to begin with that that system that they had was sufficient enough... That, to me, was just ignorant," she said.

Haney's crash was the first F-22 fatality believed to be linked to the plane's on board oxygen generation system, but it came more than two years after the first reported incident of a pilot experiencing "hypoxia-like symptoms" in mid-air, possibly due to a lack of oxygen.

A recent ABC News "Nightline" investigation into the F-22 Raptor found that in addition to Haney's death, possible problems with the plane's oxygen system have caused pilots to experience oxygen deprivation symptoms such as dizziness and disorientation in mid-air in at least 25 incidents since 2008. In one case, another pilot apparently got so disoriented that his plane dropped down and clipped treetops before he was able to save himself.

ABC News Investigation: The F-22 Fighter's Fatal Flaws

Air Force Blames Capt. Haney in Death

Capt. Jeff Haney had just completed a routine training mission in Alaska in November 2010 when a malfunction suddenly caused his plane to shut off his oxygen supply. Haney rolled into a sharp dive and, a little over a minute later, crashed into the Alaskan wilderness at faster than the speed of sound.

After a lengthy investigation, an Air Force board acknowledged the malfunction but blamed Haney for the crash, saying he was too distracted by his inability to breathe to fly the plane properly. Likely, the Air Force report said, Haney was attempting to deploy the manual back-up oxygen system, which is only activated if the pilot can reach a small ring tucked into a corner of the cockpit, and didn't realize he was flying nearly straight down for the better part of a minute.

While Jennifer Haney disputes the Air Force's conclusions -- citing evidence that she said shows Capt. Haney was likely passed out for at least part of his fatal dive -- she said today that either way, an automatic back-up system would've saved her brother.

"He had the perfect storm of things go wrong that day, but if he would've had automatic back-up oxygen come on, yeah, I think Jeff would've been fine," Jennifer Haney said.

Capt. Haney's wife, Anna, is currently suing the plane's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, as well as other major defense contractors involved in the plane's production for wrongful death, claiming the companies knowingly sold a broken airplane to the Air Force that put her husband's life in danger. Lockheed Martin said in a statement that Capt. Haney's loss was "tragic" but the company disagrees with the allegations in the suit.