despite that, general mark welch was adamant the air force's plane was still on schedule. >> i'm confident that the program will remain on track. >> when you read the evaluation, what do you see? >> i see a program that should have been held up. >> from 2001 to 2005, tom christy was the director of operational tests and evaluation. he spent more than 30 years at the pentagon as a high-ranking official in evaluation. >> they are producing 40, 50 airplanes a year. to me that's full scale production. that's a tragedy, because god knows what we have to do to fix all these aircraft. >> to this day test pilots are operating under severe restrictions. unable to fly the plane at high speeds or maneuver aggressively for fear the engine problem could happen again. according to the d.o.t.n.e., a design to fix the problem was not complete at the time the report was written. the major general commands the air force wear fair center. his unit is testing the air force's version for battle. >> can i ask you what your reaction was? >> we have to be concerned. we have a long history of a sound, safety progr