when ejection seats to wrong

[Malcolm]

 

Air Force instructor pilot killed when ejection seat activated on the ground© Provided by The Canadian Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Air Force instructor pilot was killed when the ejection seat activated while the jet was still on the ground at a Texas military base, the Air Force said Tuesday.

The instructor pilot was in a T-6A Texan II at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, when the seat activated during ground operations on Monday. The pilot was taken to a hospital and died Tuesday, the Air Force said. The pilot's name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

 

The T-6A Texan II is a single-engine two-seater aircraft that serves as a primary trainer for Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps pilots. In a training flight an instructor can sit in the front or back seat; both have lightweight Martin-Baker ejection seats that are activated by a handle on the seat.

In 2022, the T-6 fleet and hundreds of other Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps jets were grounded after inspections revealed a potential defect with one component of the ejection seat's cartridge actuated devices, or CADs. The fleet was inspected and in some instances the CADs were replaced.

When activated the cartridge explodes and starts the ejection sequence.

Ejection seats have been credited with saving pilots' lives, but they also have failed at critical moments in aircraft accidents. Investigators identified ejection seat failure as a partial cause of an F-16 crash that killed 1st Lt. David Schmitz, 32, in June 2020.

 

Related video: SAFB pilot ejected from plane on base (KFDX Wichita Falls)

One person is in the hospital after an ejection during

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SAFB pilot ejected from plane on base

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In 2018, four members of a B-1 bomber crew earned the Distinguished Flying Cross when, with their aircraft on fire, they discovered one of the four ejection seats was indicating failure. Instead of bailing out, all of the crew decided to remain in the burning aircraft and land it so they all would have the best chance of surviving. All of the crew survived.

 

[Kip Powick]

 

                                                                

Many decades ago CF100s, (affectionatly called "Clunks"), were based in RCAF Station St Hubert. One morning, a sullen looking RCAF maintenace tech came into Ops and told the Ops officer that in  two  different  CF100's the  ejection seats did not work.

The Ops O asked how he knew that . The  airman said he climbed into two of them, pulled the safety  pins and tried to eject......obviously, he was more than just despondent. He was kept in Ops until the Medical team arrived.

I seem to remember that both aircraft had just completed B checks and it was found that the seats had never been armed....BTW, there were 3 CF100s in the hanger...the third was fully serviceable.

[Kip Powick]

When I was a real "Newbee" I met a grizzled old jet pilot while on my first posting. Being keen I asked what aircraft he had flown  and he was kinda keen to tell me about his experiences on the CF100.  He was chuckling when he told me his Nav bailed out once but he had never experienced ejection.

"Whaaaat?" How did that happen ?? He had to take a CF100 up for a full test card flight and he had to have a Nav with him because, "I think" there were Circuit Breakers that were in the back seat and naturally things had to be fully checked so the Nav had to be on the flight.

They went through the test card and the last items were "G" loading . He asked the Nav if he was ready and the Nav said he was so he went into a steep dive and abruptly  pulled max + G. With that completed he had to do a max -G maneuver . He went into a steep climb and abruptly  bunted the aircraft over, heard a loud curse, then an explosion, the canopy was gone behind the pilot and the Nav was not there.

Apparently the Nav's seat was not locked down and when the pilot applied max -G abruptly  his seat slid up the rails and he went through the canopy, seat and him........ He floated down safely and the pilot landed safely. 

[Innuendo]

 

Your memory is spot on.  He may not have mentioned that his  seat was also not locked down but when it started to ride up he was able to stop further upward movement by being able to pull on the control column.

He also said that he did his utmost to grease the aircraft onto the runway and hold on to make sure the seat stayed put on landing. I think the nav spent the night in the Bagotville bush.

The pilot concerned joined AC for a while in the '60s but found other things to do and did not stay. (Think Saunders ST27).

 

Edited May 15 by Innuendo
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