Another Red Arrows accident

[rac3r]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8877315/Red-Arrows-pilot-dies-after-ejector-seat-accident.html
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[stinkwheel]

I find it highly unlikely that the 'chute on a Martin Baker ejector seat failed to open under normal flying conditions. They are DESIGNED to work with the aircraft static and still on the tarmac and most of the testing is carried out at ground level (hence a zero-zero ejector seat).

I wonder if it was deployed accidentally with the canopy partially open or some of the safety pins still in place?
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[The Artist]

Apparently those ejector seats can generate up to 14g (for a split second).

Not jealous of anyone who had to use one.

Sounds like an unfortunate accident.

[pinkyfloyd]

From the looks of it when it was on the news it seemed to me that the ejector seat went and the canopy that is designed to seperate from the plane didnt and the pilot went through the glass. That possibly could have broken the pilots neck on the way through the glass.

Either way that will be the planes grounded for a long time and possibly scrapped for newer models.
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[stinkwheel]

[The Artist]

They were doing winter training so surely nothing will be running, it must have been a freak accident.

Still, we aren't going to know until they do an investigation.

[DXB]

There has been many instances where the seats have been fired unintentionally and a few people have ended up as a splat mark on hanger ceilings, this has mainly been caused by not having all the safety pins installed.

Here's some urban myths.

1 chap working on a Harrier seat, the seat fired whilst he was stood on the seat facing the tail he did a few backward somersaults and landed on his feet on the floor in front of the nose of the jet.

Another guy working on a Lightning seat accidentally fired it, again due to all the pins not being installed, in the milliseconds of time he had he managed to squeeze himself between the seat pan and joy stick and watched the seat exit through the hanger roof.

In all the time i spent in the RAF i regarded the ejection seats to be the most dangerous things i had to work on.
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[WildGoose]

[Raffles]

Ejector seat incidents are not everyday occurences but they are not unheard of.
I don't know whether or not this recent incident has any relevance to yesterday's events:-
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1321561/Pilot-Mike-Harland-killed-seat-fell-RAF-Tornado-jet-flew-upside-down.html
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[stinkwheel]

Here's a not urban myth heard firsthand from someone who was there.

Airman leaning into the cockpit messing with the electrics on a Lightning. Pins not put in seat. Shorts something out, seat fires into roof of HAS, takes guys arm with it.

Military jets are dangerous things which are designed to kill people.

The ejector seat/undercarriage doors etc are actually NOT the most dangerous parts, they have weapons for that sort of thing.

Tell you another story.

Harrier aboard an aircraft carrier. A technician was working on the electrics on the control column, then cycled the Aden gun to check it was all connected up properly. Turns out there was still "one up the pipe". The resulting 30mm armour piercing shell goes through a bulkhead and hits someone in the next compartment killing them instantly.

Armourer jailed then discharged.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[stinkwheel]

[Rogerborg]

[Kickstart]

Hi

No doubt what actually happened will come out.

It does seem strange that the parachute failed to deploy on an ejector seat designed to cope with low level use.

However I wonder if that would be the result from the ejector seat being triggered before the pilot was strapped in / after the pilot was unstrapped. The photo floating around of the aircraft appears to show it on the pan with others, possibly suggesting the incident happened when they were preparing for flight.

I would presume that procedure wise they are meant to only finish arming the seat once the pilot is strapped in, but from Gooses comment on calling pilots back to disarm the seats after the have left the aircraft I presume this is something that doesn't always happen.

All the best

Keith
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[DXB]

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