Don't Ever Touch The Red Button!

[MIflyer]

Short flight, really interesting landing. In what sounds like a scene from a bad comedy, a civilian being taken for a ride in a French fighter jet was accidentally ejected as the plane took off, reports Aerotime. The unidentified passenger, a man in his 60s, apparently wrenched his back when he fell to the runway, but his health is otherwise "not a cause for concern," says a spokesperson for the French Air Force. It's still not clear what happened, but three separate investigations are underway, per the Aviationist. The pilot landed the plane safely after the bizarre mishap, though he suffered cuts to his hands from the broken canopy

 

[Airframes]

Not good if you land before the aircraft you were in !!

 

[MIflyer]

I recall hearing of a ATC radio conversation that went something like this:

"32 Sierra, can you descend to 2000 ft over the next five miles?"

"This is 32 Sierra. I think I can do so, old chap, but I can't bring the aircraft with me."

 

[Tieleader]

To quote Dee Dee from Dexter's Lab cartoon... "Oooooh, what does this button do? " Proceeds to push said button....

 

[Gnomey]

Oops!

 

[FLYBOYJ]

More than a red button! It's a pretty deliberate sequence to activate an ejection, this guy was either spooked, delusional or a total idiot if he indeed ejected on his own initiative. Every time I flew in a hot seat aircraft (T-33, F-4, L39) the PIC gave me a briefing on egress procedures before we flew. The company I worked for that operated leased F-4s gave me a half day class on the system as well as how and when to activate it. I wonder who this civilian was and why he was getting a ride.

 

[gumbyk]

More than a red button! It's a pretty deliberate sequence to activate an ejection, this guy was either spooked, delusional or a total idiot if he indeed ejected on his own initiative. Every time I flew in a hot seat aircraft (T-33, F-4, L39) the PIC gave me a briefing on egress procedures before we flew. The company I worked for that operated leased F-4s gave me a half day class on the system as well as how and when to activate it. I wonder who this civilian was and why he was getting a ride.

Yeah, there's something missing from those articles I think.

 

[Chris H]

More than a red button! It's a pretty deliberate sequence to activate an ejection, this guy was either spooked, delusional or a total idiot if he indeed ejected on his own initiative. Every time I flew in a hot seat aircraft (T-33, F-4, L39) the PIC gave me a briefing on egress procedures before we flew. The company I worked for that operated leased F-4s gave me a half day class on the system as well as how and when to activate it. I wonder who this civilian was and why he was getting a ride.

Maybe a politician? An unpopular politician???

 

[Airframes]

Does seem rather odd.
That said, there was an incident in the UK some years ago, with a Jet Provost.
Whilst inverted (I think at the apex of a loop), the passenger's ejection seat slid up the rails, pierced the canopy, and ejected the passenger. The drogue and main 'chute worked as intended, and the passenger landed on the canopy roof of a filling station, hurting an ankle.
The aircraft and pilot landed safely.

 

[MIflyer]

Back in the early 1970's at San Antonio Air Logistics Center they were running a canopy jettison test with a T-37. Sitting on the ground they activated the canopy jettison, only to have it fly back, hit the stops, and instead of flying off, slammed back down and jammed, trapping the test personnel.

Turned out that the ALC had bought some new bolts to secure the canopy and had specified that the bolt break at a certain stress level. But the company that supplied the bolts had figured that if a certain break point was good, an even higher one would be even better. After all, no one ever complains about a bolt that is too strong!

 

[XBe02Drvr]

It's a pretty deliberate sequence to activate an ejection,

In a "modern" well thought out system, yes, by face curtain or seat pan handle, but I remember that one of our local Air Guard's earlier birds (forget which one, F94, F89, F102, EB57??) had some sort of squeeze handle arrangement just forward and below the armrests. I could easily imagine a first time flyer, startled by the boot in the pants from the afterburner, grasping those handholds "put there for you to hold on to". SURPRISE!!
Cheers,
Wes

 

[michael rauls]

In a "modern" well thought out system, yes, by face curtain or seat pan handle, but I remember that one of our local Air Guard's earlier birds (forget which one, F94, F89, F102, EB57??) had some sort of squeeze handle arrangement just forward and below the armrests. I could easily imagine a first time flyer, startled by the boot in the pants from the afterburner, grasping those handholds "put there for you to hold on to". SURPRISE!!
Cheers,
Wes

Suprise indeed.

 

[MIflyer]

Yes, the early ones, like the B-47, you grabbed a couple of grips just below the forward end of the "armrests" and pulled them up.

I got told how to use the ejection seat before I flew in a T-33A and got to use the trainer seat before I flew in a T-37B. But I do not recall the details, other than you had to assume a position similar to that adopted for a difficult bowel movement.