perfect danger. extremely young girls looking scary skinny, frighteningly flawless. tonight, one 14-year-old fights to stop the industry from messing with her heads. and killer jets? it's dangerous, it's powerful, and it's the most expensive fighter ever. but does the air force jet have a fatal flaw that killed this young pilot? an exclusive investigation. plus, sweet "revenge." it seemed like a good idea at the time, but, well, you be the judge. tonight my acting debut on the

hit show "revenge" and what it was really like playing -- me. did you murder tyler barrel? >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," may 2, 2012. good evening. i'm cynthia mcfadden. tonight, the glossy world of fashion magazines where very young girls can never be too thin or too flawless. so what happens when real girls can't measure up to the manipulated measures of perfection? one expert says it can be more dangerous than drugs. abc's linsey davis brings us one 14-year-old girl determined to change things. >> reporter: long, lean legs, a teeny, tiny waist, perfect skin and glossy hair. just exactly who looks like this? actually, nobody.

while models have always been made to look beautiful, never before have they been looked so skinny, airbrushed and impossibly perfect. and it turns out that can be dangerous. that is why 14-year-old julia traveled from maine to new york city to lead this protest, a mock photo shoot on the doorstep of one of the biggest teen magazines in the industry. >> we wanted to show "seventeen" we love our bodies just the way we are and we don't need photoshop to fix us. >> reporter: we met julia earlier today in a war room provided her by change.org. >> a lot of the pictures look too perfect to be like anyone i know. >> i have known a lot of girls with eating disorders, everything from the serious anorexia and dleem bulimia to weird diets. >> reporter: many are developing

serious body image issues. it all started here two weeks ago when julia taped her hadself doing an informal poll during her lunch break in her school cafeteria. >> these pictures make me feel sad about myself. >> reporter: that led to a change.org protest. asking "seventeen" magazine to have one month of non-air brushed pictures. and the results are staggering. more than 25,000 signatures from all over the world. she picked up the box full of printouts from kinko's today. >> oh, my gosh! >> reporter: she came here with her mother, of course, to bring those names and the battle to the fashion capital of america. once in new york, she was joined by local and like-minded teens. despite the light-hearted mood, the issue is dead series. >> i've seen a 9-year-old girl on a feeding tube at treatment centers. and that's not just one, believe

me. >> reporter: lynn grief, the president of the eating disorder association of america, has seen the effect these ads have on young children firsthand. >> i think it is more dangerous for kids to look at some of these magazines today than smoking pot. i do. >> reporter: "seventeen" says they try hard to encourage self-esteem in their editorial spreads, but it's the ads under attack. youth and beauty have graced the cover of magazines from day one. critics say what makes today's images more dangerous is the cutting-edge technology. to see what tricks the fashion industry has up its sleeve, i agreed to go on a digital diet. >> we could maybe take in my waist? a little bit? >> reporter: according to sarah zif a former model, in her business a photo isn't finished until it's fixed. >> you see people whose bodies have been really reshaped to look significantly younger or

significantly thinner, and i think that's really the source of concern. >> reporter: this summer, we met three teenagers with dreams of some day strutting on a runway. they were at a model boot camp. run out of the home of mary and jeff clark. and as 15-year-old malia learned, literally every inch counts. >> it really comes down to an inch. every way you're looking at the scales and you're tipping them and tipping them and tipping them. >> reporter: have you seen your friends go to extremes to retain that physique? >> i have seen my model friends really go to extremes and in some cases get very sick. >> liposuction? >> one girl who's been very, very successful, her agency told her to get full body liposuction while she was still in her teens. and she did. and she worked well after that. >> who is the villain here? is someone culpable? >> i don't think it's someone. i think it's many.

you know, i wish we could call everybody to the roundtable and talk this through. there should be laws, laws about how young kids can model. that's number one. >> reporter: but she's also pushing for some controversial legislation that would require warning labels to be put on all images that are airbrushed. in the meantime, julia's on a mission to get "seventeen" magazine to publish one unair brushed spread per issue. >> that's what we're asking for for now, we hope it's a baby step to grow into had something bigger, maybe influence other magazines to do the same and eventually the other pages and maybe even the cover. that would be really cool. >> reporter: she also thought it was very cool that after the effort this eighth grade's efforts earned her a meeting with the editor of "seventeen." for "nightline," i'm linsey davis in new york. >> after the meeting, "seventeen" sent us a statement saying they celebrate girls for

being their authentic selves and that's how we present them. there's no other magazine, they said, that highlights such a diversity of size, shape, skin tone and ethnicity, end quote. up next -- a young airport pilot who lost his life on his fighter jet. who's to blame? >> announcer: abc news "nightline" brought to you by angie's list. ♪ [ male announcer ] you're at the age

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we're servers at red lobster. twist. an air force pilot at the top of his game dies in a stunning crash. and his fighter jet could be to blame because of what may be a

fatal flaw. abc's brian ross investigates. >> reporter: it is the f-22, nicknamed the raptor. >> incredible capable. incredibly lethal. >> reporter: in the promotional videos, complete with music, the manufacturer lockheed martin uses every trick in the book to make the f-22 look like $422 million well spent. >> i think it's going to change war fair completely. >> reporter: but the truth about the f-22 is much different. it's never been flown in a combat mission and it has a potentially fatal flaw in the oxygen system. captain jeff han yip was killed after he lost oxygen and his jet crashed in alaska. but the air force blamed him, not his $500 million aircraft.

>> jeff was an awesome pilot. and an even better man. i am so proud to call him my brother. and he gave his life. he just deserves the truth. >> reporter: this computer simulation prepared by the air force shows what happened to haney. >> the beeps going on tell something is wrong with the airplane. four seconds after that coming up on the screen, he is no longer gets oxygen in his mask and he is probably getting the feeling he is suffocating. >> reporter: he was conscious throughout the dive and failed to make the right moves, says the air force. but gannyard feels that is hard

to please. is he close to making it? >> not close enough. >> reporter: the air force paid tribute with a fly over. the family is now suing the air force, saying that haney was not at fault, they want to protect the reputation of the f-22. >> it feels like a number sometimes. the jets are worth a lot of money. >> reporter: the entire fleet of the f-22s were grounded for five months last year after 14 reports of pilots losing oxygen. but after the planes were put back in the air, the problem persists with 11 reports of oxygen problem. one pilot said that some pilots are asking not to fly the f-22 because of the safety issue. >> if i knew what the problem was, it would be good. i just haven't found the problem

yet. >> reporter: the f-22 has had huge profits for the lockheed martin company. and today at the corporate headquarters, the final of the f-22s were turned over to the air force. >> it's an an improvement to the modization effort. >> reporter: but even if the oxygen flaw is fixed, the plane is still a waste of taxpayer dollar. >> it's not flown a combat mission in afghanistan or iraq or are they planning to do so. >> reporter: senator john mccain said the plane was designed to fight a soviet jet that was never built and has no use now against the enemies that they are fighting. >> there is no purpose, unless you believe that al qaeda is going to have a fleet of

aircraft. >> reporter: its critics say the air force can't even give the pilots enough hours in the air to train them. >> it's in the shop all the time. they are lucky if they can fly it every day. >> reporter: is it badly designed or badly produced in. >> both. >> reporter: for now, the f-22, the future of the america jet fighter jet s a $500 million aircraft some pilots are asking not to fly. what are they going with the planes? >> there are a lot of air shows around the country that could appreciate fly byes. >> reporter: and senator mccain wasn't joking. that is just where we found the f-22s, performing tricks in air shoi v shows across the country. a very expensive stunt plane. the air force says of the f-22s

have been deployed to the middle east and it tries to figure out what is wrong with the oxygen. cynthia. >> thanks to you, brian. up next, i will show you how i got ready for my close-up into any cameo on the hit show "revenge." hi. do you get car sick or anything? no, is that a challenge? no, no. so with the 2013 taurus i can pretty much voice command anything. pretty much. you're going to be able to change your radio station, make a phone call. all that you can do with just the sound of your voice. all of it? all of it. never have to take your hands off the wheel. never have to take your hands off the wheel... which is good when you're driving. ha ha ha.

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should i or shouldn't i? i have been asked to play myself before, but as a dedicated coward, i said no. but when the folks of abc's hit "revenge" called, i hook the hit and played myself in an episode that aired tonight. here is my seven hours as an actor. >> what do you think faith gave

you that you needed? >> strength and understanding. >> reporter: over the years, i interviewed the famous and infamous. when it comes to work, i feel like i can usually harness the rush of adrenaline. >> i don't think you get do-overs in life. >> reporter: but this morning, i feel like i'm headed for the hot seat. we hit the road just past dawn and the nerves are setting in. the trailer on this lot in manhattan beach, california, makes it official. i'm here to shoot a cameo on the hit abc drama "revenge." >> no one has ever gotten me a cup of coffee. i'm liking it here. my role, i'm playing myself, interviews daniel grayson, played by joshua bowman about

allegations that he killed someone in the hamptons. i feel like i should know what to do. in my real life, i covered a murderer in the hamptons. but playing yourself on tv is different from being yourself. now there are lines to learn. >> it was reported -- today it was -- >> it was reported today -- >> reporter: the scene is a turning point, one that stuns the leading lady, play bid emily van camp. >> i'm not going say prison. they have two factual tweaks to the script. then i'm headed to wardrobe and a visit to hair and makeup. >> right this way. >> i feel sick to my stomach. >> you are going to be great. then it's time to head to the

set. >> cynthia mcfadden from "nightline," everybody. >> i am so nervous. >> and guy back to the trailer for quiet if not calm before my big debut. >> it is time. >>ky do that. >> okay, stage 18. >> there are two live cameras. here and here, everybody. >> it is nerve wracking to go before this audience. so, you daniel, you are in jail and now you are a free man. how you are doing? >> a lot better than i was 48 hours ago. >> it helped they let me consult on the scene. in real life -- >> do you kill ted dannen. >> in my fictional life. >> did you murder her? >> this time, we shoot over and over again to capture different angles, one at a time. >> ready for your close-up. >> i always wanted to say. >> that the work is tedious.

>> i said charges in the allegation. fortunately, my co-stars help me along. that is christa allen. >> it looks good. you are acting and reacting. >> any comments on the accusation of corruption and fraud? >> cut. >> seven hours later, it's a wrap. >> i had no idea it's so much work. >> thank you, cynthia mcfadden, for joining us. >> i don't plan on giving up my "nightline" job you did it's great to see how they make the magic. >> just for the record, did you murder tyler barrel? >> he said no. my excellent adventure. and finally, on a more serious note, many of you saw will weir's standing on organ donation and facebook. today, 18 states reported nearly a 1600%