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A 64-year-old man accidentally ejected himself from a fighter jet during a flight from an airbase in France.
The events that led up to the incident, which took place in March 2019, were detailed in an accident report by the French government on April 6, as per BuzzFeed News yesterday, April 13.
The man, a manager at a French defense manufacturing group, had had no experience riding a fighter jet. However, he chose to participate in the ride-along since it was a gift from his colleagues. His friends had obtained special ministerial approval for the present.
Since the gift was made known to him on the day of the flight, the man’s preparation for it was rushed.
The report stated that he underwent a medical examination, which should have happened 10 days prior his scheduled flight, on the day itself. It also noted that the man had a heart rate of 136 to 142 times per minute as he entered the jet’s cockpit due to his nervousness.
When the Dassault Rafale B jet he was on took off from the airbase in Saint-Dizier as part of a training exercise, the man had forgotten to properly secure himself and his helmet.
As the aircraft continued to travel, the pilot and passenger were subjected to a “negative gravitational load factor,” which can make one feel like he’s upside down.
“Discovering the feeling of the negative load factor, the insufficiently strapped and totally surprised passenger held onto the ejector handle and activated it unintentionally,” the incident report said.
In addition, investigators discovered that the doctor had recommended that the 64-year-old be not subjected to a negative load factor. However, the medical professional had failed to inform the man and the pilot before the flight.
After pulling the ejector handle, the elderly man was ejected out of the jet while it was in mid-flight. According to the report, the ejection system should have pushed both men out of the jet, but a malfunction prevented the pilot from flying out.
Since the pilot remained at the controls of the jet, he was able to successfully return to the airbase. Meanwhile, the 64-year-old’s parachute deployed upon his ejection, leading him to land in the airbase with only minor injuries. He was later transported to a hospital. Ryan Arcadio /ra
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