F-35 Pilot Called 911 After Bailing Out

[fubar57]

'Ma'am, a military jet crashed. I'm the pilot': More details emerge in F-35 training crash in U.S. | CBC News

A military pilot whose advanced fighter jet went temporarily missing over the weekend is heard repeatedly requesting an ambulance in a perplexing 911 call from the South Carolina home where he had parachuted to safety, according to an audio recording released Thursday to The Associated Press.

www.cbc.ca

 

[special ed]

Isn't 47 a bit old for a combat pilot?

 

[tyrodtom]

My question is if the aircraft was working well enough to remain flying for another 60 or so miles, then why did he eject ?

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

My question is if the aircraft was working well enough to remain flying for another 60 or so miles, then why did he eject ?

The Marine variant has an auto-eject function for the seat. I'm betting the software activated the seat erroneously, and the autopilot was able to correct for the missing cockpit/messed-up aerodynamics for a few minutes.


The Marine Corps said Thursday that a feature on fighter jets intended to protect pilots in emergencies could explain how the F-35 managed to continue its travels. They said that while it was unclear why the jet kept flying, flight control software would have worked to keep it steady if there were no longer a pilot's hands on the controls.

"If the jet is stable in level flight, the jet will attempt to stay there. If it was in an established climb or descent, the jet will maintain a 1G state in that climb or descent until commanded to do something else," the Marine Corps said in a statement. "This is designed to save our pilots if they are incapacitated or lose situational awareness."

911 call reveals bizarre circumstances of F-35 ejection

The F-35 crashed Sunday after a malfunction prompted the pilot to eject over Charleston and land in a residential backyard.

www.marinecorpstimes.com