Moment civilian passenger, 64, is accidentally EJECTED from a French fighter jet when he panicked during ‘observation flight’ that he was ‘pressured into doing’ by colleagues
- Defence manufacturer gifted flight on Rafale B fighter jet by four colleagues
- BEA-E report says the passenger was nervous and pressured into flight
- He received inadequate safety checks and was ill-prepared for G force
- The civilian passenger panicked and accidentally ejected himself, report says
- BEA-E outlined chain reaction of failure which prevented jet from crashing
A civilian passenger accidentally ejected himself from a French fighter jet when he panicked during an ‘observation’ flight he was ‘pressured’ into.
The 64-year-old French defence manufacturer was gifted a discovery flight on a twin-seat Rafale B fighter jet as a surprise by four colleagues.
However the Accident Investigation Bureau for State Aviation Safety (BEA-E) found that the passenger was stressed when he entered the cockpit.
A final report produced by the BEA-E outlined a chain reaction of human and technical failure which unexpectedly prevented the jet from crashing.
It said that the civilian, whose heart rate was recorded at up to 142 beats per minute, ‘never expressed a desire to carry out this type of flight… on Rafale’.
A civilian passenger was accidentally ejected from a French fighter jet when he panicked during an ‘observation’ flight he was ‘pressured’ into
The 64-year-old French defence manufacturer was gifted a discovery flight on a twin-seat Rafale B fighter jet (pictured) as a surprise by four colleagues
The victim had claimed he was given no close to no possibility to refuse the flight from the moment it was announced, AeroTime reports.
His visor was up, his anti-g pants were not worn properly, and his helmet and oxygen mask were unattached due to insufficient safety checks.
The pilot took off from Saint-Dizier 113 airbase, eastern France and climbed at 47 degrees, generating a load factor of around 4G.
He then subjected the nervous passenger to a negative load factor of -0.6G.
The Accident Investigation Bureau for State Aviation Safety found that the passenger was stressed when he entered the cockpit. A final report produced by the BEA-E outlined a chain reaction of human and technical failure which unexpectedly prevented the jet from crashing
The pilot took off from Saint-Dizier 113 airbase and climbed at 47 degrees, generating a load factor of 4G. He then subjected the nervous passenger to a negative load factor of -0.6G
‘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 BEA-E report into the incident stated.
The 64-year-old lost his helmet and oxygen mask during the ejection. The dinghy failed to inflate due to a technical flaw of the seat.
He suffered only minor injuries in the March 2019 incident.
According to the BEA-E report, a technical error prevented the pilot from also being ejected. It is believed this glitch stopped the jet from crashing.
‘The insufficiently strapped and totally surprised passenger held onto the ejector handle and activated it unintentionally,’ the BEA-E report into the incident stated
According to the BEA-E report, a technical error prevented the pilot from also being ejected. It is believed this glitch stopped the jet from crashing