Total Ejections a Pilot can make?

[Schnugg]

I wouldn't count that as part of the data --- kid leaned over and said "what's this do" and he pulled the handle that was clearly intended to be pulled

Seat worked 4.0 as advertised. So in MB stats it's a successful seat firing stat.

 

[Flash]

Was that the kid in the back of Slick's jet? Got some nasty seat slap as I recall. Slick got some good mileage out of that event in the Brown Lantern - what a weasel.

Yeah, he had a real deep bruise on his thigh but fortunately did not break it.

I think the prize for recent 'uh-oh' with an ejection seat goes to the CO of the Anzio who accidently pulled the handle on a Blacklions F-14 in Fallon in Nov 2002. His straps were loose so he grabbed onto something, the ejection handle. Much like Slick he tried to get mileage out of it at the O Club. He was ignored.....:sleep_125

Description of the accident, halfway down the page: http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-serial-19.htm

When I tried to google it ('accidental ejection from an F-14') most of the returns were about a JAG episode where the same thing happened. The episode aired 4 months after the real accident......

There is an article and a picture in hte July 7, 2003 Navy Times, if anyone has that handy

 

[HeyJoe]

Seat worked 4.0 as advertised. So in MB stats it's a successful seat firing stat.

Agree that MB can tout it in their stats, but meant it shouldn't go in books for youngest ejectee as this was inadvertant. If I was researching ejections, I'd prefer to see it as a footnote. Should have been more specific.

 

[FlyinSpy]

I think the prize for recent 'uh-oh' with an ejection seat goes to the CO of the Anzio who accidently pulled the handle on a Blacklions F-14 in Fallon in Nov 2002. His straps were loose so he grabbed onto something, the ejection handle. Much like Slick he tried to get mileage out of it at the O Club. He was ignored.....:sleep_125

I was in the club that night, and he seemed to think the whole thing was a big joke. I heard that when he got back to the ANZIO, some wag installed a yellow & black handle on his bridge wing chair. I bet that didn't go over as well as they thought it might....

 

[HeyJoe]

I was in the club that night, and he seemed to think the whole thing was a big joke. I heard that when he got back to the ANZIO, some wag installed a yellow & black handle on his bridge wing chair. I bet that didn't go over as well as they thought it might....[/QUOTE]

He is damn lucky he didn't suffer a spinal injury being in the position he was. What a waste of a hop on that guy!

 

[joeyF-18]

Does the Navy do an evluation on pilots when something lile that happens?

 

[HeyJoe]

Does the Navy do an evluation on pilots when something lile that happens?

He wasn't a pilot or RIO. He was a blackshoe CO of an AEGIS crusier. Penalty in this case was a downed jet and loss of canopy and ejection seat so taxpayers picked up the tab for this guy's folly.

For aviators, a FNAEB is convened when CO wants to "evaluate" or "determine" future flight status after loss of aircraft, etc. There's a separate thread on FNAEBs.

 

[HeyJoe]

Tomcat convertible

I was in the club that night, and he seemed to think the whole thing was a big joke. I heard that when he got back to the ANZIO, some wag installed a yellow & black handle on his bridge wing chair. I bet that didn't go over as well as they thought it might....

Waste of a hop at taxpayer's expense on this seemingly ungrateful gent

 

[Schnugg]

Agree that MB can tout it in their stats, but meant it shouldn't go in books for youngest ejectee as this was inadvertant. If I was researching ejections, I'd prefer to see it as a footnote. Should have been more specific.

Concur with you HeyJoe. It was a tragic accident more than anything else.

What I was getting at for the newer aviators on the board's benefit is that seat stats from manufacturers like Martin-Baker talk about successful ejections...what that means is the seat functioned as advertised. (think marketing and corporate PR) Whether out of the envelope or not, or if the crew survived...is sometimes not mentioned. A perfect example is LT Hultgreen's seat in her VF-213 F-14A. Seat worked 4.0. The fact she was killed was due to being out of the envelope. No fault of the seat.


Appreciate your great inputs on the board recently.

r/
G

 

[FlyinSpy]

Waste of a hop at taxpayer's expense on this seemingly ungrateful gent

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JCA/is_1_13/ai_n6100694

The link above is a good summary from the MP concerning the incident. I was under the impression that in the F-14 a pilot could "de-select" the RIO's seat, so that only he could command eject. True?

As far as injuries go, the "scratches on the captain's face" referred to in the article were not from the ejection - he apparently landed face first in a yucca bush. Something about "drunks and fools" probably applies here; my best guess is he avoided a broken pelvis and femur(s) by pulling himself up into the seat before it fired. One lucky mo-fo.

Comment heard on the tower freq as the canopy-less jet was on approach: "Hey, who's flying the convertible?"

 

[HeyJoe]

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JCA/is_1_13/ai_n6100694

The link above is a good summary from the MP concerning the incident. I was under the impression that in the F-14 a pilot could "de-select" the RIO's seat, so that only he could command eject. True?

The handle you mention is part of the take-off checklist and RIO typically pulls it to rear (MCO position) and says "I have eject" meaning if he ejects, both seats go*. When a guest is aboard, the pilot pulls it to forward position (pilot) so that if guest inadvertantly ejects, only that seat goes...which is what happened in this instance (if pilot ejects, then both seats go).


*RIO has/had responsibility to respond to pilot's verbal call to eject especially when pilot was busy with both hands and particularly at edge of envelope (cold cat shot, landing mishap, etc.)

 

[nittany03]

The current NACES seat in the T-45 uses a gas charge to catapult you out of the aircraft and then the rocket fires. Pretty neat system. Supposed to be gentler on the body without sacrificing survivability. Or so we were told.

Actually the thing the -45 seat has going for it is that there are two smaller catapult charges which go off sequentially as opposed to one big one, thus less Gs overall for the same effect. Seat techs said that the catapult itself is enough to clear the tail without the rocket; the rocket's job is to shoot you high enough for zero-zero performance.

 

[AllAmerican75]

I read an article a few years ago about Martin-Baker and about how they kept track of how many times people had ejected in their seats. I remember that they had a small number that had ejected 4 times and a handful, maybe two or three, that had ejected 5 times. I think one guy may have had six ejections. I could not find it on google but I think the article was in Air and Space magazine.

P.S. One of my ECMO classmates in the RAG ejected with just 8.9 hours in the Prowler. Another one of my classmates ejected after having the same problem with the jet. 2 out of 5 guys so far.......

I believe they do keep a list and if you eject and survive I believe they even send you a patch that shows you are a member of the Martin-Baker Fan Club. But there is a list of everyone who has ever ejected on a Martin-Baker seat. I wonder if the Russkies do the same thing? I hear they have great seats*.

*When everything works properly.

 

[SteveG75]

I believe they do keep a list and if you eject and survive I believe they even send you a patch that shows you are a member of the Martin-Baker Fan Club.

Actually, it is the Martin Baker TIE Club.
http://www.martin-baker.com/ejject_tie_club.html
I am number 4582.:icon_smil

 

[AllAmerican75]

Wow, that's a pretty sweet gift package.