MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
An interesting read
Fighter jet crash averted by defect in civil ejection incident
On March 20, 2019, a civilian passenger was accidentally ejected from a twin-seat Rafale B fighter jet as the aircraft was taking off from Saint-Dizier 113 airbase, eastern France. The final report of the French investigation bureau for State aviation safety (BEA-E) on the incident outlines a chain reaction of both human and technical failures, one of which unexpectedly prevented the fighter jet from crashing.
Passenger unprepared and mishandled
The civilian passenger, identified by the report as a 64-year-old employee of a French defense manufacturer, was offered a discovery flight on a Dassault Rafale B fighter jet as a surprise by four of his colleagues, including a former pilot of the French Air Force that organized the gift.
Journalists or elected officials are often invited to take part in “observation” flights approved by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, for information and communication purposes. They must follow a strict procedure that includes a medical visit to the Center for medical expertise of flight personnel (CEMPN), and the approval of the Ministry.
However, this time, due to the “informal” setting of the flight, the usual protocol was not respected. Instead, the passenger was examined by a doctor four hours before the flight. He was declared apt to participate in the flight, under the condition that he would not be submitted to a negative load factor. That information was not communicated to the pilot.
The civilian was already nervous when he entered the cockpit, with his heart rate recorded between 136 and 142 beats per minute. The investigation found that the safety checks of the passenger had been approximate at best. He carried out most of his installation into the cockpit by himself. As a consequence, his visor was up, his anti-g pants were not worn properly, his helmet and oxygen mask were both unattached, and his seat straps were not tight enough.
Following orders of a regular training mission that involved two other Rafales, the pilot took off and climbed at 47°, generating a load factor of around +4G. Then, as he leveled off, he subjected his passenger to a negative load factor of about -0.6G.
“Discovering the feeling of the negative load factor, the insufficiently strapped and totally surprised passenger held onto the ejector handle and activated it unintentionally,” states the report. During the ejection, the civilian lost his helmet and oxygen mask. Due to a technical flaw of the seat, the dinghy failed to inflate, but fortunately, the incident happened above land. The passenger sustained minor injuries.
The BEA-E states that the absence of experience and the lack of preparation due to the surprise caused a lot of stress on the passenger, who had “never expressed a desire to carry out this type of flight, and in particular on Rafale”. The victim said he was given close to no possibility to refuse the flight from the moment it was announced to him. The social pressure of his colleagues also contributed to the stress.
Technical flaw saves the aircraft
Additionally to the mishandling of the passenger, the incident revealed something else: a malfunction of the ejection seat.
The fighter jet was set up to, under normal conditions, eject both the pilot and his passenger when one of them pulls on the ejection handle. The BEA-E explains the procedure of a Rafale double ejection in four stages: first, the back canopy is shattered by a line of explosives embedded into the glass, before the passenger seat is ejected. Then, the front canopy is also destroyed, and the pilot seat is the last to leave the fighter jet.
But in this case, the last stage failed and, despite his canopy being ejected, the pilot remained in his seat. Local media reported at the time that the glass of the canopy had slightly injured his hands. Nonetheless, he remained master of his aircraft. “He then remained calm to pilot his plane despite the multitude of failure messages that the on-board computer displays and an unusual aircraft centering following the loss of the rear seat and the canopy,” says the investigation, which analyzed the radio recordings.
Strictly following the safety procedure, he set his transponder on 7700, avoided flying over inhabited areas, dumped fuel and landed successfully back at the airbase. He then evacuated the cockpit by himself, fearing that the ejection seat could activate at any time. A safety perimeter was established around the Rafale for 24 hours, after which the ejection seat was secured.
The technical investigation found that the explosion ruptured the casing of the sequence selector supposed to trigger the pilot ejection seat. As for the uninflated dinghy of the passenger, it was obstructed by the incorrect folding of its container.
The BEA-E produced several recommendations in order to address both the unpreparedness of the passenger and the two technical flaws revealed by the incident. Among them, it reminded the military authorities and Dassault Aviation that a delay of 10 days should be respected between the medical visit and the flight, which gives enough time for the passenger to prepare both physically and mentally, as well as ensures medical recommendations reach the flight crew.
View full article
The BEA-E states that the absence of experience and the lack of preparation due to the surprise caused a lot of stress on the passenger,
Not as much stress as it caused his undercrackers...
More seriously, Christ...
I know he shouldn’t have been in the situation in the first place, but fair play to the pilot for flying a fast jet with the roof down...
Bloody heck - I've had some birthday presents...!
Deffo one to remember
That’ll be expensive as the rocket packs fitted to modern seats do quite a bit of damage to the airframe as the seat goes out.
BAE lost a Tornado passenger a few years ago when the aircraft rolled inverted and the back seat fell out because it wasn’t latched in correctly. Sadly because the passenger didn’t initiate the ejection sequence the parachute didn’t deploy and he was killed.
The only civilian member of the Caterpillar Club?
BAE lost a Tornado passenger a few years ago when the aircraft rolled inverted and the back seat fell out because it wasn’t latched in correctly. Sadly because the passenger didn’t initiate the ejection sequence the parachute didn’t deploy and he was killed.
He wasn't a passenger, but a trained navigator employed by BAES - they were test flying a freshly serviced aircraft. The armourers had failed to check that the seat was installed correctly. I was working on the project at the time.
Happened out of leuchars about 10 years ago. Tornado developed issues.
Pilot phones his boss.
"Thought you were meant to be on a pax flight"
"Yes, about that boss"
"Where are you?"
"About 3 miles off the coast of at Andrew's"
Auction winner civilian was a bit shaken up.
The only civilian member of the Caterpillar Club?
Nah, a couple of my friends have Irvin caterpillar badges. They're disturbingly common.
Does the passenger still qualify for a tie from Martin Baker?
Do you still qualify for the caterpillar club if the plane wasn't disabled?
The Martin Baker planes fly over the house now and then. Very shiny.
Mr Moloney, wearing a neck brace, said: 'I knew I was in big trouble because I was not in the aeroplane, which was a bit of a shock.'
lolz.
But you still want a go in one, yeah...?
But you still want a go in one, yeah…?
100%. Was half hoping someone would buy a decommissioned Tornado and run passenger flights. No such luck, yet.
Chum of mine used to drive firstly Harriers from Wittering then Typhoos in the ME. Being the shite that he is, he never arranged a go in one for me... Bastard 🙃
Do you still qualify for the caterpillar club if the plane wasn’t disabled?
No, needs to be parachuted from a disabled plane. Skydiving or falling out don't count.
I'm pretty sure the tale of the Accidental Lightning Pilot has been shared on here before.
No passengers or ejection involved but it's a great tale nonetheless.
Passengers and fast jets can be an unpredictable combination F14 Tomcat incident.
needs to be parachuted from a disabled plane. Skydiving or falling out don’t count.
They're a bit bloody strict if you ask me. From Wikipedia:
RAF Sgt. Nicholas Alkemade, who during World War II bailed out of a RAF Avro Lancaster without a parachute and landed uninjured in a snow-drift, was refused membership because a parachute had not been used.
I was based at RAF Valley 93-95. RAF fast Jet school = many crashes. The first, I was just about to cross the Rhosnieger end of the runway when I saw two parachutes coming down. Thought "ooo, were we expecting a display today". Then I noticed the burning Hawk on the runway. The pilot plus the student had both ejected on the runway after the gear collapsed.
I think there was a crash nearly every week, esp at RAF Mona when they get the landing wrong.
Just as well didn't happen when Ewan McGregor got a lift in a Tornado off his brother 🙂
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1384114/Stars-550mph-trip-with-Top-Gun-brother.html
Birthday flight in fighter jet - 99/100
Birthday flight in fighter jet and leave via the ejection seat -1,000,000/100.
Before leaving hospital yesterday, Mr Moloney, wearing a neck brace, said: 'I knew I was in big trouble because I was not in the aeroplane, which was a bit of a shock.'
aphex_2k
Member
Before leaving hospital yesterday, Mr Moloney, wearing a neck brace, said: ‘I knew I was in big trouble because I was not in the aeroplane, which was a bit of a shock.’
You'd like to think that was classic British understatement quoted in the Indy rather than maximum donkyness...
@eddybaby - Meteors, mmmmmmmm, nice! 🙃
Given the regularity with which Meteors dropped out of the sky when they were in service I think MB have done remarkably well to keep them flying!
<
Given the regularity with which Meteors dropped out of the sky when they were in service I think MB have done remarkably well to keep them flying!
The Meteor was nicknamed the meat box at the time which says a lot, asymmetric thrust at low level was a killer. The loss of aircraft and life’s in the 50-60s was horrendous attitudes then compared to now are poles apart
I was based at RAF Valley 93-95. RAF fast Jet school = many crashes. The first, I was just about to cross the Rhosnieger end of the runway when I saw two parachutes coming down. Thought “ooo, were we expecting a display today”. Then I noticed the burning Hawk on the runway. The pilot plus the student had both ejected on the runway after the gear collapsed.
I think there was a crash nearly every week, esp at RAF Mona when they get the landing wrong.
Your memory of that time and the info here are very different
http://www.ukserials.com/