Pentagon says working to fix F-35 ejection seat issues

WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Wednesday said it has restricted some lighter pilots from flying the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet while it works to address issues with ejection seats that could injure them during a low-speed ejection from the jets.

Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the Pentagon's F-35 program office, said pilots weighing less than 136 pounds (61.69 kg) were restricted from flying the jets from Aug. 27 given concerns about the seats made by UK-based Martin Baker Aircraft Corp.

He said the restriction currently affected one of the 215 pilots already trained to fly the new stealthy, supersonic jets. The aircraft is designed to be flown by pilots weighing as little as 109 pounds (49.44 kg).

The ban was put in place after tests discovered that the seat would rotate too far forward during a low-speed ejection by a lighter pilot, potentially causing injury to the back or neck, according to a defense official briefed on the issue.

"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," DellaVedova said.

He said the program was still in developmental testing, which is designed to identify such problems.

Lockheed referred all questions to the F-35 program office.

The issue was first reported by Defense News, a trade publication.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by David Gregorio)