F-14 Tomcat Fam Flight Goes Very Wrong
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- Опубликовано: 6 ноя 2021
- In the episode, Ward talks about the time a Navy ship captain went for a fam ride in an F-14D and wound up accidentally ejecting.
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At my last base in the B-52, we had a gunner eject during a nighttime low level (I wasn't on that flight!). It was determined a series of crew errors & miscommunications caused him to panic. Instead of punishing him, they sent teams to collect whatever ejection mechanism parts they could find, and he went to a major medical facility to examine every inch of his body (had he become shorter due to spine compression? did he black out temporarily?, etc). They were quite close to the ground, and hadn't slowed even a little bit. It would have been impossible to get a volunteer to do this dangerous stunt. But since they now had one, why not see if everything worked as advertised?
did it?
@@abntemplar82 I wasn't privy to the medical data, but I don't believe he had any serious injuries. As far as I know, the ejection system worked like it was designed too. BTW: the gunner in that model sat in the crew compartment up front, not in the tail, and he had ballistic (not rocket) ejection seat, which is standard on the B-52.
@@rbeard7580 When I had a tour of a B-52 while stationed at Griffiss AFB in the early 80's, we were allowed to ask questions and get answers that the public was not privy to ask. The Electronics Warfare Officer (EWO), the guy that sits to the left of the gunner on the top deck facing backwards told me: If he and the gunner ever ejected, there was a very good chance they would break both legs because there is only a short guide for their seats. I looked up and saw the hatch, it wasn't much bigger than the seat and crew member. Then he showed me how to run the jammer. I turned knobs and moved a jam pulse (on a scope) right over a FM radio station pulse. I said, "I am jamming that station now?" He said, "No, the transmitter is off, don't touch that switch or you will." Before that, we toured a hanger. Inside was Cruise Missile on a cart, I walked up to it and my escort said to sit on it and give them my best Major Kong (Slim Pickens) riding a bomb bit from the "Dr. Stangelove" film - waving my hat (they did that for some people). I wish I had a photo but it was not allowed. I said, "At least I got to sit on a 10 mega ton nuclear weapon!" They broke my bubble and said, "If that was a real weapon, you would get nowhere near it, especially you Romsky... we hear all the stories." Yes, one time I accidentally took the whole base to DEFCON 1 at 3AM for a few minutes. But that is another story.
@@paulromsky9527 Those were the days! I tried to keep away from the nukes except for required duties. I didn’t want to have to any stories to explain. Also didn’t entirely believe they didn’t emit a bit of radiation ☢️.
@@rbeard7580 I hear ya, I could see the weapons storage area across the base in the distance glimmering in the summer sun from the command post area atop of SAC Hill. At first it kept me up nights knowing how much destructive power was crammed into a small area and within a few miles away.
I have a friend who used to perform maintenance on Tornadoes in the RAF. Two pairs of Tornadoes were doing low altitude training in the Lake District region in England. The cloud level was dropping severely and they were in the middle of a conversation with their CO about whether to alter their training docket to low vis training (something on their schedule for later in the year) or to just come home. They are telling jokes about scaring sheep when one bird goes silent. Their wingman screams out that his partner ha been struck and that the glass of the canopy is gone and the frame is buckled but still attached and smoke is pouring from behind the canopy.
Contolled panic ensues, the flight is recalled and the damage aircraft crew (with no radio) indicates via hand signals that they are okay. The wingman, examining the damage from about thirty feet way can see burns, deformed metal and smoke coming from a fist sized hole. To their horror they can see a thin trail of white smoke coming from the belly of the aircraft. A huge rip about two feet long was visible with debris sticking out.
Though tense, all four planes landed safely and my friend's team was called in for first assessment to ensure the aircraft was safe just to sit there while the investigation team arrived. The impact had struck about nine inches behind the canopy twisting the metal and deforming the canopy hinge enough to break and lose the canopy glass. The projectile had obliterated the UHF antenna and punched through the starboard equipment storage before leaving the aircraft dragging a bunch of scrap with it.
To say they were extremely lucky to not have any vital flight systems hit is an understatement. There were a cluster of four punctures actually in the skin of the aircraft.
The navigator's helmet had glass embedded in the back and he suffered concussion from the strike.
It was a meteorite strike. There was a few centimetre long fragments of rock inside the fuselage with the investigators concluding a larger piece did most of the damage but that left the aircraft. Essentially a cosmic shotgun blast, barely missing the crew by a fraction of a fraction of a second.
Interestingly it can't be logged as an official meteorite strike because there was no tracking of the projectile so there is no way to officially determine if it fell from space, a higher aircraft, a volcano or, given their flight altitude, a kid on a mountain top throwing rocks at passing aircraft. Infact the criteria to identify a meteorite strike on an aircraft is sooo high, it can't be met unless you knew it was going to happen before hand, a quirk of aviation accident investigation.
I know it's only tangentially linked to the video but I just love that story so much I tell it at every opportunity.
Incredible. I never even considered meteorite strikes on aircraft being possible.
@@ghost_ship_supreme Me neither
Out of curiosity which tornado sq. was your friend assigned to, if you don't mind my asking ?
That’s one of the greatest stories I’ve ever heard.
Yeah, ok.
When I was in the French Air Force in 89/90, a cadet that was within the squadron for one month, was in the rear seat of one of our Mirage F1b, ejected while the plane was on the ground after the flight when the plane was parked, inside a plane bunker. The mechanics was attaching the ladder to the plane to come detach the cadet when he ejected. Sadly he did hit the concrete ceiling and died immediately. The Air Force never knew what happened. 😢
Suicide?
Holy crap that’s gruesome. Sounds like the poor guy might have intentionally ended himself?
Probably bumped an eject handle while getting ready to climb out. Or something loose caught on it.
@@stupidburp Impossible to just bump it and have it go off. The ejection handle is a rope noose sitting between your legs (I checked and it is the same in Mirage F1B) and you have to really "dig in" to pull it and it takes considerable strenght to trigger it. That is to say, triggering it by accident is pretty difficult. Also, turning on safeties is pretty much the first thing you do when jet is parked after landing and taxiing to a parking spot as you don't want accidental ejections. Of course, there might have been a mechanical failure that set off the seat, these things, while unlikely, are still possible.
@@stupidburpIt was during the war in the Gulf (The firs one), and we were on NBC (Nuclear Biologic Chemical) alert. Hence,, the plane was parked in a bunker; pilots had to wear face protection attached to the helmet, and there was a metal attachment around the face on the helmet. The upper eject handle was the one "used," and the investigators thought he could grab the handle with those metal things on the helmet. It was far-fetched, but they ordered removing this system from all the Air Force Helmets anyway. He was still attached fully to the seat, as they needed the mechanics to detach them. It happens during the climb of the mechanics on the ladder to help him detach himself. We will never know what really happened. It was sad; we were the same age.
Ward is like the cool uncle everyone wishes they had. I could listen to stories like this all day.
I hope if he has grand children. They must love his stories.
Uncle Ward!! yeah. He's my uncle now.
My uncle flew fighters in ww2. He had some cool stories but was reluctant to talk about them. He flew mostly ground support missions so it wasn’t until years later when I really understood what GS entails and realized why he didn’t talk about that so much.
@@johngroberts952 Their losses were about 4x those of fighter air-to-air engagements -- very dangerous, down low; but, a LOT of our troops-in-contact came home alive because of that rapidly evolving, decisive birth of true 'close air support' (WWII).
Please consider Ian Toll's "War in the Pacific" trilogy. Mostly from a US Navy perspective, but so full of credible anecdotes and personal accounts that you will certainly be deeply affected by the close air support passages alone. I've been reading histories for most of 64 years, but this one is a whopping cornerstone.
Right? I would never leave this man's house lmao
Fair play to the Captain, took balls to go back to the OC, he knew he'd screwed the pooch and would have to take the ribbing also he admited fault, didn’t try to blame equipment.
Or blame the pilot.....and yes, good on him.
@@johnmcpudding857 True....but anyone who's served in any branch -- especially if they were enlisted -- has heard or experienced officers who act the opposite.
At least when I was in, you knew how things worked. There would be an investigation. I'd you don't face the truth straight-on & call a spade a spade, you screw yourself in the long run. If not one way, then another.
@@samsignorelli right. Nobody's apologizing for them. It's not directly related, but you reminded me of a department head I had. He used to come into the office and chew me out for something one of my colleagues had or had not done. (I knew he was high strung & stressed out, so I just rolled with it.) Point is, just because you're an officer, doesn't mean you're a particularly good one, esp at the lower ranks.
@@77thTrombone Yep...one thing O-1s tend to forget it that their commissioning process is THEIR basic training. Learning on the job is their tech school.
Btw...I like how you have t-bone in your screen name....but your avatar is either a baritone or a euphonium!
I guess we may know the RIO. His name must be Jester and he made it into DCS as F14 RIO (where he ejects if there is a minimal risk being shot down). ;-)
As Growling Sidewinder has found to his distress.
He literally never punches out on me
I could be doing the weirdest shit ever or get my wings blown off by an aim 120 and he just wont punch out
Definitely Growling Sidewinder's RIO...
Was expecting to see this comment and sure enough, here it is. :)
Pilot: Bogey! It's an, umm.. It's a MiG!
Jester: Mommy! (ejects)
Having lunch in the mess hall on the America, off Yankee Station, and here comes a LT in full flight suit bee-lined to me. He leans over and whispers, “My 91 control panel is down, and I need you to fix it.” Well, that’s a never-heard of scenario in 99.98% of the time, except this LT is in my squadron and we’ve lifted a few brews on shore, and I know him. About then, Jake shows up, my AIMD mate, and he practically yells, “The damn ASM-403 won’t boot and I can’t test this LT’s control panel.”
It was supposed to be my day off.
Long story short, I fixed the test bench, got it running, and then found a bad board in the control unit and got it RFI and QA’ed, all in 1 hour 17 minutes.
I went with the plane captain and the plane was on the flight deck. I hooked up the control panel, secured it and booted the ASN-91 and commanded a SIN’s fast-erect. The platform spun up and started the ship’s inertial navigation alignment. Woo-Hoo!! As I climbed out of the cockpit, the wind whipped the yellow ejection seat safety flag around my arm and I pulled the ejection seat safety lanyard out of the seat. I stepped over to the plane captain and yelled into his ear that the plane was in alignment, all good!! When he saw that flag around my arm he nearly tackled the LT who was climbing into the cockpit. He put the lanyard back in after unceremoniously removing it from my arm.
Much later in the evening I got congratulated and my ass dressed down at the same time by the CO of my squadron and the LT Commander of AIMD. What would I have done if the aviator had accidentally ejected that seat without his harness attached? And it got worse. I asked why there were no RFI control panels in stock?
And THEN it got worse. Next day I spent fixing 8 control panels under the gentile, kind and considerate observation of our shop chief. 🙄
Yeah. Right… a week later, I got a commendation. 😳 Never a dull moment.
What type of bird was that on?
"Day off"? On a carrier? Duuude.
@@LRRPFco52 Vaught A7-E. VA-86. And yes, AIMD was trained to be on flight deck during ops. Not very often, but yep, we rotated duty.
@@cheloso1 No work day, was for haircuts, shopping, reading and didn't happen very often. AIMD ran a bit different, but on occasion, the shop chief would say "go get a haircut", code for nothing much going on, everything caught up, check in at 1300, be ready to work, otherwise, see ya tomorrow.
What? No Captain's Mast? What a soft crew.
Reminds me of a story my dad (A4 & F8 driver) told me about when he was serving in VA-86 onboard the Independence. His squadron mate had just launched in his Skyhawk. The canopy wasn't latched properly, and popped off as he left the deck. The Air Boss radioed something to the effect of "A4, you lost your canopy". After a few seconds, the Lt. responded, "No shit". He landed safely. That Lt. went on to become the CO of the Blue Angels, CO of various frigates, CO of the Ranger, CO of the Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet and Asst. Deputy Chief of Naval Ops. He retired as an Admiral. His name is Tony Less. Very nice guy who ate dinner at my house after a Blues' show in Texas. Thanks for all your videos, Ward. I thoroughly enjoy them.
Thanks for the laugh.
One of our F-117’s in the mid 90’s came back one night as a convertible. As I recall, the pilot claimed that his sleeve caught the canopy lock lever and inadvertently opened it in flight. Quite a feat, as it had about a foot throw and took some effort. This occurred near Farmington, NM. A team went out and recovered the canopy and brought it back. The F-117 canopy structure was so stout that it probably could have been put right back on the jet. Of course it wasn’t but it was in pretty good shape.
I've never flown that type (😜) but I can see snagging my sleeve in a tense moment and throwing my whole arm to unsnag it pretty damn quickly. This is also why I don't wear blouse-y (poet sleeves) flight suits when I exceed 0.16M.
Did the ah shoot pilot get it as a momento?
Was him name on the canopy to add to the embarrassment.
You say the pilot "claimed" his sleeve caught. Does this imply you believe there's another explanation?
There was a lot of talk. Probably only a very few know the truth.
What’s funny, is that I was roommates with the PR who packed the ejection seat parachute for the Captain, who told me the Captain came and gave him a case of beer. About a month later, I found myself in SERE school with the Jeff’s brother, who is an F-18 pilot and told me this story in person. Small World.
Great story. I was an AI in VA-25 and was on weapons deployment with the air wing preparing to go to Vietnam. My squadron flew the A-1H which didn't have a second seat, so I persuaded the Ops officer of one of the F-4 squadrons to give me a FAM flight. I was so excited and nervous at the same time. I paid particular attention to how to use the ejection seat in the back. During take off, he hit burner and smoke started spewing between my legs. I screamed and started thinking about ejecting during the takeoff roll. Fortunately, my pilot said, "relax, that is just the condensation from the air conditioner". Glad I waited.
I'm glad it was nothing serious.
My Dad as a Korean War era Air Force pilot had a story of losing his canopy and also one where his oxygen system malfunctioned, he started slurring his words, losing consciousness. His Rio screamed at him (justifiably) , radioed in and then announced that he was ejecting in 5. He started the countdown. Something about that really annoyed Dad, enough to rouse him and drop down below 10k feet and recover.
Korean-era? Sounds like an F-94 or F-89, both of which are some of my favorite early all-weather interceptors
@@gopniksaurolophus6354 He definitely flew multiple versions of the F-94. Not sure if he flew the F-89. He flew the F-94's mostly out of Goose Bay Labrador and Thule. He also had a fun story of encountering the infamous Curtis LeMay while stationed at Goose Bay.
@@seaninness334 curtis lemay?! Do tell.....
@@christopherleveck6835 My Dad's commanding officer learned that LeMay was coming to Goose Bay. So he wanted to look extra sharp. He thought it was a good idea for 2 F-94's to go up and escort LeMay's plane in. I guess, at the time, the crews didn't have to have their sidearms on them but he ordered that too. Well I guess LeMay was pretty paranoid and freaked out about the whole thing. Upon landing, he was hopping mad and demanded the crews for both F-94's brought before him to ask them whose idea it was to escort (I'm not sure he understood it was an escort type of thing) his plane in, then he saw they had their side arms and lost his mind, screaming at them. I don't recall if my Dad said there was any actual punishment other than the tongue lashing. It seemed pretty innocuous. My Dad also said that occasionally, commercial air liners would stray into restricted airspace and they would scramble an intercept. At night, they would sneak up on them and identify them. Then for fun, they would hit their afterburners in sight of the airliners cock pit and scare the f out of them, cackling as the civilian flight crews screamed bloody murder on their radios. I could see being yelled at for that. Heh.
@@seaninness334 my uncle Oliver Generous flew F-94s out of Otis AFB, Cape Cod MA in the mid-50s
One time my Crew Chief and I were pre-flighting our bomber (B-52D) and while he was upstairs de-pinning the E-dub's seat I hear a sharp POP ! I was afraid to look. Turns out that although he did fire the hatch separation initiator it takes wind pressure from the slipstream to carry the hatch away. So as long as the hatch was in the hole the ejection sequence stopped right there. Close one. Would have been different had it been a downward firing seat. YIKES ! But there is a story about downward firing seats as well. One time someone fired the downward firing seat while on the ground......but wasn't strapped in. Just like in the cartoons the seat fired down and the occupant was sitting in mid air, until he fell through the hole 3 feet to the ground. Just wounded pride.
Kara suffered that fate right into the ocean she went in this plane im not sure what type of plane she had but it sucks that she had to die while trying to land her aircraft
I'm a retired Army Chief Warrant Officer I was a leg Warrant which you probably know non aviation side of the house. I lived in Virginia Beach for 11 years was originally an 11 Bravo Drill Instructor at Ft.Story but was also a Track and Wheel Vehicle Mechanic. Eventually was selected for Warrant Officer and became Battalion Maintenance Officer for the 5Th159 Aviation Heavy Lift Chinook helicopter Battalion Headquarted at Ft.Eustis VA.
Those years were some fun and interesting times especially the contact an interaction with the pilots who also flew some of the Army's fixed wing aircraft. I thoroughly enjoy listening to your stories it takes me back to when I served with those individuals. I really appreciate your taking the time to educate the public on military aircraft operations. Thank you Sir and keep up the great work your doing.
Respectfully CWO SHOOK
@chuck williams Hello Chuck and thanks for the heads up on the status of the Dragon Master if that's what they're still calling themselves.
I left the unit when I made the mistake of moving back to Pennsylvania in the fall of 2002.
Good hearing from you take care and Press On my friend and fellow member of the 5/159th
Arni Shook
I was a PR3 in the EA-6B VAQ-141 of CAQ 8 I saw that landing and thought OMG and ran to your PR1 Lamb and told her that an F14 from her squadron,was coming in without a RIO, and helped her pull the records for the flight gear, she was not happy. But it’s a story I tell people about, as it was the first convertible Tomcat I ever saw. I was the rigger who instructed that captain on his radio op the day before, very remembered day of my life…. Love it. I still laugh about it today.
I guess I'm the only one that thought that this was some sort of "Take a family member to work day" - hence "Fam Flight" - gone horribly wrong.
Very similar to a Rafale incident. That was also a "passenger" flight, actually to celebrate the passenger's retirement.
Same issue, negative g, grab the nice "hold Yourself on these!" handles, boom, ejection!
That was during take-off, the pilot got into a sharp vertical S (not inverting), passenger flew out.
The ejection sequence was set to fire both seats, thankfully it didn't work (for that specific scenario, but it's definitely not what one generally wants), and the pilot brought the aircraft safely down.
The passenger got in hospital but recovered.
A memorable retirement.
I guess you could say he went out with a bang.
The fact that the pilot didn't go with him was a cause of a major investigation and some modifications to the systems, in a way the French military owes this guy thanks, its saved them finding the issue with a closed casket funeral
C.W. "Mover" Lemoine has a video on that incident on his channel where he goes over the accident report.
Saw a video on this incident and all I can think is that the ground crew had disabled the ejection switch. Don't want some "passenger" ejecting both himself and the pilot.
@@johnknapp952 my understanding (admittedly from news reports) was that nothing had been disabled and the pilot should have been ejected
NATOPS change: challenge and response - challenge: hands sitting on . Response: Copy sitting on hands.
This made me genuinely laugh.
AW: "I want the FULL tour".
Pilot "Ooook, then..."
I remember when Geoff told me this story when he was transitioning to the hornet at VFA-106. He had some interesting words for his experience when this happened.
He told me it got really cold, really fast. 😬
Great story!!! The guy that did my air conditioner maintenance was a fighter pilot. He was telling me the story of losing his canopy once. Only thing I do remember was he mentioned some frostbite. I wish I could remember the rest of the details. He was a great guy now passed. He never charged me a dime for his work either.
We had a story in our squadron where the backseater was concerned about rough wx. He was pulling forward to see instruments in the front cockpit. ( Limited instruments in the back) He also was holding lower ejection handle. Well, they hit a bump hard enough that he pulled the handle! Seat worked as advertised! Front seat thinks that backseater must know something he doesn't so he ejects. The plane flys in circles and almost lands itself. No names , I don't know if these guys are still around.
That can't look good on your yearly review.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
Tomcat? Or something else mate?
OV-10A
@@josephastier7421 Won't. But America learned from the Japanese in WW2.
You can replace the aircraft. It is significantly harder to replace the aircrew.
Well Sir Mooch, I couldn’t help but notice your grin when explaining how the Captain inadvertently grabbed the ejection handle and somehow applied enough pressure to fire it!!!! I bet that was a wake up/oh crap moment for him!!!! I bet the Skipper not only hugged the Pilot, but kissed him on the cheek as well, for saving the $30 Million jet from an unnecessary crash!!!!
$42 million actually.
Never been in a military jet in my life.
As soon as you said it happened during an inverted maneuver, I was like "Someone grabbed the wrong "hand-hold" during the inversion and negative"G" maneuver."
Glad everyone was okay. And that the RIO showed true mettle and bravery by going to the Club that night! You know he got ribbed pretty good!
I flew with Patty Wagstaff's team pilot on her Extra 300 in front seat and we did inverted flight check over the swamps near St Augustine. Best time ever. No ejection but I thought about seat belt resistence...
I got to fly with Sean D. Tucker's team pilot in his Extra 300 and when we did that check, I ended up with my head pressed up against the canopy. I guess the lapbelt was a little loose :D
@@Jackhammer909 I was afraid of that or worse...😁
Imagine thinking you're just going for a sunday stroll in the backseat of a Tomcat and next thing you know, you've yeeted yourself into an inverted ejection onto the desert floor 🤣🤣.
Glad he made it. Bet he never lived that down.
I certainly hope no one wasted this fantastic opportunity to assign the captain the callsign “Bail Out.”
Excellent story.
Wow, that's quite a story!
My dad was a plane captain for the squadron commander of SB2C's on the Coral Sea when it was new, My dad says he didn't really want to fly he had never flown at all, but he didn't think it was a good idea to say no when the skipper ask don't you want to take a short ride, so he got the plane ready and then thought he wished he had not eaten that big tomato sandwich for lunch, of course when he started rolling and diving that lunch Reappeared, he said when they got back to the ship he was never so glad to see that deck, that was his one and only ride, and he spent most of the afternoon cleaning that plane.😅😕😱
That’s pretty accurate, but there were a few things I can correct. I was the tower supervisor that day. The desert controller was an outstanding controller by the name of Thomas Hornbeak. As the TS, I was monitoring desert control and heard the event as it occurred. The wind played a minor role, but the pilot was understandably, full of adrenaline. His first two transmissions, nobody could understand him. Thomas calmly said “sir, take two deep breaths and calmly tell me what happened.” He had his mask on and he pickled the mic and we could hear him inhale and exhale two deep breaths and he says “MY RIO EJECTED” and at that point we rang the crash phone to activate SAR. They were just north of Bravo-19 in Dixie Valley. I think I still have the GPS coordinates of where the station SAR helo, an HH-1 at the time, in my sea trunk. There’s seldom a boring day in Naval aviation.
Reminds me of another story I heard about backseaters being ejected
In the 90s, an officer was flying to get his time in and keep currency - his senior officer came along for the ride and, during the flight, accidentally punched out leading to an emergency landing of the Tomcat. Landed at an Air Force base as it was the nearest at which point the base commander launched a search and rescue mission and told the pilot that his CO would be "pissed" at him for what had happened. Pilot then sheepishly admitted that the guy who punched out **WAS** his commanding officer - the Judge Advocate of the Navy
Oh lawdy. Don't leave us hanging! How'd this wrap up? 😅
@@chocolatefrenzieya Surprisingly well... The Admiral made a shelter and started a fire even if it was on a lake and got dumped into a freezing cold lake and ended up adopting a stray dog that saved his life. Ended up in a local diner where he was found not too bad as things go and there was no action taken again the pilot as it was deemed the Admiral triggered the system as he moved around in the backseat, pilot got eventual promotion to Captain and ended up as CAG on a carrier. The Admiral retired a year later and walked out in the middle of his Dining Out because he didn't want any fuss made
@@Trek001 That's a pretty good story!
Ward, thank you for the very informative videos. Back in the 1980's and as soon as I received my college degree, while I already had a few pilot certificates and ratings and a couple of thousand hours of flight time, I wanted to become a Naval Aviator. Unfortunately, I was not a US citizen at the time and I joined the US Army Infantry instead. By the time I obtained my US citizenship I was too old for Navy Aviation and I went the civilian way becoming an airline pilot. Today, almost 40 years and 20,000+ flight hours later, I still have a great interest in Naval Aviation and I thank you for allowing me the opportunity to "join."
Rio: I’ll never fly with you again
Pilot: Roger that
That's a fantastic story. I'm glad no one was injured and the aircraft wasn't seriously damaged, besides needing a new canopy.
I was just reading an old Grampaw Pettitbone where he said an amazing number of accidents happen because someone doesn't know what to do with his hands...
Back in the late 60s VA-196 had an incident where the pilot inadvertently brought the throttles into idle cut off when slowing for the carrier break. The pilot immediately dumped the nose, put the throttles in "start" position and began firing the air start button. The B/N wisely ejected, but the pilot got the fires re-started, declared an emergency and landed after almost entering the water. Incidentally, the pilot landed and was on the flight deck in time to meet the B/N when the helo landed.
Amazing story, Chuck! I need to find the mishap report for that one.
@@WardCarroll See Facebook messenger for a reply
It is always amazing how when you take off, there is nobody at the field, but when you come back, after calling Mayday, there are dozens and dozens of people watching you come in and land.
Things you don't want to hear in flight school: "Well, at least we know the ejector seats are working..."
Fascinating video.. just as an aside, my grandad worked for Martin Baker in Denham, UK for 40 years.. he built the ejection seats/parts for seats etc.. As a kid I remember he would bring home seat stickers, ‘Danger..Do Not Pull Handle’ and others.. I would stick them on my pushbike and school bag 😄👍🏼
You can always get a new "call sign" no matter where you are at in your Naval career.
Now that's a "T" shirt I don't ever want to wear. Dude has balls. I guess that's why he was a captain. You guys rock. Respect from Canada.
I remember this incident very well. I also know the Captain in question personally. I love your videos Ward because a lot of your flying career aligned with my Surface Warfare tours. I was an Air Intercept Controller in my enlisted days and Air Defense Officer as an LDO.
Maybe not the same Capt or the same incident, but I was a ship supe for a Norfolk Cruiser prior to my own commissioning as an LDO. This CO self ejected. When he came back, the ship JO's had little green army men with parachutes hanging all over the ship. "Stand and Fight!"
So ... No punishment from navy for pulling th ejection seat?
And how's his career? Stuck?
Or went normal as if he did nothing wrong?
I was stationed at Miramar when this happened. I heard lots of comments about the pilot flying a convertible Tomcat. I don't remember hearing what happened to the RIO after this incident. Glad to hear he survived.
A very engaging interview. No CGI or simulator footage needed. This man's delivery was spot-on, with just the right speed and vocal clarity. Plus, his personality came across -- he is definitely a Tomcat fanboi.
Very cool recounting of this story. I was an IS in VF-213 when this happened and I remember the Skipper (CDR Gaiani) being relieved that Jeff was able to get the plane back safely. IIRC, the plane was never returned to service due to the damage caused by the ejection seat torching all the electronics in the back.
Thank you for the detail about the airplane. So, it was a costly mistake in terms of money and equipment. Luckily not at the cost of lives.
Still an exciting story!
@@Concord003 it would have been cannibalized or sent to a museum. it wasnt wasted. plus they got a good solid real test of the ejection seats. the captain got a sky diving lesson. the crew on board the carrier was ready. there was no loss. even the plane was saved and its duty changed.
Yes, they squeezed out maximum value out of a rare dangerous situation, and everyone returned home safely. Thank you for explaining.
When teaching ejection seat procedures class for non-aircrew / VIP Pax, etc, if the "rider" was not initiating the ejection, we taught them to cross right hand to the left upper torso webbing / cross left hand to the right upper torso webbing BELOW, NOT ON the UPPER KOCH FITTINGS. You grasp the webbing making a fist (fingers / thumbs tucked around the webbing. Your arms were then in a crossed position, tight against your chest with elbows tucked to the side. It was also a good body position when not in straight and level flight to keep your hands away from the those various "Black & Yellow" striped triggering devices in the cockpit. But appears the SWO lower / mini KOCH fittings straps were not tight / snug enough ,so his butt floated off the seat. Now in an uncomfortable environment, human nature takes over to grab a handle.........and BANG...he becomes an instant member of the Caterpillar and Martin Baker Clubs! I wonder if the PR who packed his parachute got a bottle of "Spirits" for a proper operating chute (AME also)?
I drove the other pilots from his Squadron to the end of the runway to help guide him in using the emergency radio. I remember sitting there in the truck watching the F-14 land in front of me with no canopy and nobody in the backseat. It was something I will never ever forget. I was stationed at NAS Fallon in the fleet liaison division
I remember the TV show Jag did an episode where something like this happened. I remember the show was prone to using some of the unbelievable stories from Aviation past and incorporating them into the show. Other examples are the time that a phantom pilot pushed his wingman out of North Vietnamese airspace by pushing his aircraft with the tail hook. Another one of my favorites is the time that someone landed a C-130 on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
I remember in the early to mid 80's there was a west coast F-14 flying out to the ship to begin their deployment. They trapped aboard, shut down, raised the canopy, got out of their seats, and were standing on the top boarding step in the fuselage. The pilot was leaning over his seat gathering his stuff and the Rio was trying to retrieve his small bag from behind his seat in the turtle back area. The bag was hung up on something and when he gave it a yank to free it, the ejection sequence was initiated. Both seats fired with both crew members leaning over them, and they were both launched into the air and were killed when they hit the deck. What a horrible way to start a cruise for that squadron.
So sad, as a mechanic you never force anything. All that training sad for the two men.
That is terrible.
Had no idea. When I was 12 back in 1974. I use to go down and hangout at hangers at PT Magu. They would let me sit in jets. F 4s, F8s. I never had any training. I doubt they let kids hangout there anymore. My dad was Navy.
@@kevincoleman9761 Another ejection seat story. In ~1982 there was an airshow at Willow Grove NAS near Philadelphia. An S-3 Viking was on static display with the crew outside the jet talking to onlookers. The crew was letting people go inside the jet unsupervised to look around. Some young boys sat in the seats in the cockpit, and one of them pulled all the pins that safed his seat and then pulled the ejection handle, ejecting himself. Since he was not attached to the seat, he obviously separated from it and fell to his death in front of everyone. The boys left behind in the cockpit were all burned by the rocket motor in the seat. I flew an A-4 to an airshow several months after this and my Ops Officer read me the riot act referencing this incident about not leaving the jet alone where someone could mess with it.
@@kevincoleman9761
In the hangars I'd give it 99% that those jets were safed for maintenance. Still, I'm sure that's a no-go today.
He got the T-shirt... but did he get the [Martin Baker] tie?! 🤣🤣🤣
There is actually a mission from some campaign in DCS where a tomcat pilot is acting as a chauffeur to some VIP and the VIP ends up ejecting. I watched a playthrough and it looks really funny.
I was a third class AME IN 1969 with VA125, TAD to Fallon, Icame back from lunch and there was a crowd of folks watching two black smudges off toward he distant mountains. I learned two A4’s had had a midair and both pilots had decided to get out and walk, a relief there! The next morning there were two bottles set up on my cruise box, apparently I had pulled the last inspection on both seats. I was a momentary hero, and that’s my brief and only navy claim to fame. There were so many operational and combat losses of A4’s during that period that I haven’t been able to gather much info. I hope those two guys survived the war and are now living the good life somewhere.
My cousin as a weapons officer in the Marines.
The canopy popped off unexpectedly one time.
Another time they got to 10,000 feet only to discover there was a wasp nest in the cabin and the pilot was petrified of wasps.
Another time they were doing low level maneuvers in a valley, perhaps in an F-111.
As they left the valley, they were headed directly at a broadcasting tower that did not appear on the charts.
Enjoy the clips. CH-46E crew chif myself. Always amazed at the level of skill and determination of the jet jockeys had.
This is the incident that kept me from my back seat reenlistment ride. Never did get another chance to ride in that wonderful machine.
As soon as you mentioned the difference between A and D ejection sequence initiation I could see where this was going!
Mooch, as always, brilliant, concise, description of events.
That's bad ass gets punched out of a Tomcat, and is in the O-Club that night
Props to him.
Third hand story but I believe it- A Tornado from the RAF was involved in a large exercise in one of the Nellis ranges and was near the Ale-inn (not sure of the spelling but it is a popular stop out there for UFO buffs.) The owner of the place was chatting with one of my friends and told how he was out back and heard some bangs in the sky. As he looked up he saw a plane dive into the ground a mile or less away. He turned to go back in to call the air force and heard voices. He looked up and the pilots were chatting as they descended to the other side fo his establishment. He ran to them and they gathered up the gear and went in to the place and ordered a couple of pints!
@@theejectionsite1038 lol wow 👌
When I was a teen in the 80's I lived off London Brodge Road near Oceana. i would hear those F-14 all night. The cool thing was seeing a plane towing out one of those GIANT targets to test the cannon on the F-14.
There was an incident years ago off of the Oregon coast. An F-106 out of KIngsley field was flying a practice flight off of the coast, when the weapons officer, apparently accidentally ejected into the sea and was never seen again, but the pilot stayed with the plane and landed it safely.
Sounds to me like the Alpha Whiskey ALSO needs a RUclips Channel! What a series of perspectives and stories that guy has to have. Another great sharing session here, Ward! Thank you!
Thank you for another great aviation story 😀 I very much like the way you talk an present the different storys and topics. It is very good to underst and to follow. English isn't my nativ language. So sometimes I have difficulties🙈 On this channel its different. It's a joy to watch and listen 👍🏼🎗🇺🇲🇩🇪 greetings from Germany
Thank you, Chris. Hello to Germany! 🇩🇪
There’s a great write up on this event in the 2004 Mar/Apr Approach magazine. Another great episode Ward. Thank you sir!
Flew in an authorized convertible aircraft last week - a 1942 Stearman out of Fredericksburg, VA. No ejection seat, but a great ride just the same
Another blast of a story! I talked to some of the f-14 guys on Quora about you and they dig your stuff!
Great to hear. Thanks, Jaron!
Another interesting and informative episode! For the life of me, I cannot understand how anyone can give any of your episodes a "thumbs down."
Uh, Biden supporters? They are anti-American.
Generally when someone gives a “thumbs down”, the viewer clicks on the “thumbs down” icon. Pretty simple process, actually. 🤷🏻♂️😂😂😂
They must be flying the F-14. Theyre confused as theyre upsidedown
At least he had the balls to show up at the O club that night for drinks! And excellent work by the pilot
Loved the T- Shirt and the great story. Black Lions were aboard a Deployment I had on The Big E in early 80’s
That is absolutely hilarious. When everyone is safe after something like this and nothing crazy happened, you can't help but laugh at it.
I can't even imagine what ejecting would be like let alone ejecting inverted by accident. I would've loved to have been at the Officers Club that night to hear the story. Unbelievable 🙏🏻
I heard a story that they put targets up in the training hangar ceilings to remind pilots/crew not to mess with the ejection, same guy told me crewman had done it before and killed themselves, he also said he landed on the I10 and got kicked out the Navy for it, so IDK if anyone of its true but ever since its something I always think about, exactly why I clicked on video.
@@DJCannon5 That is absolutely insane.
Imagine being surrounded by experienced Tomcat crews asking you what it was like after taking the rocket chair express to the ground.
I always enjoy that you do not talk down to us.
Man I could never live that one down, but on the other hand he probably said glad to be here! Great video as usual Ward !
How many people get to say they took off in a Tomcat but never landed!
Yes. Huge balls to show up at the O club that very night.
Thanks, Mooch, for another great story. I think JAG borrowed this story for one of their episodes. Harm takes up Adm. Chegwidden to demonstrate a particular instrument malfunction they were investigating and, while in the back seat, the admiral accidentally ejects over a national park.
I'm curious. What was the legal angle... a lawsuit over the instrument malfunction?
@@KutWrite I found the episode on IMDB. The title is Heart and Soul (S8 E16). Here is the partial storyline, "To increase his understanding of a claim by the Navy against a contractor, the admiral takes a ride with Harm in the back seat of an F-14 Tomcat. The admiral accidentally ejects over a national forest during a snowstorm with snow already on the ground. Harm lands safely without the canopy. While a SaR helo searches for the admiral from the air, Harm does so in a Humvee on the ground..."
@@antoniog9814 OK, cool. Thanks!
Captain: ...And that's the story of how I earned my call sign, "Ejector!"
I was a Chief in VF-213 and transferred to NSAWC Fallon at the end of the 2001 cruise. When the Lions came to town for their next SFARP I heard that an F-14 went down, the RIO made it out but the pilot didn't. I went over to the hangar expecting to know who didn't make it. There were several maintainers and aircrew in the hangar; several of whom I knew but a few I didn't . One of them was the MMCPO. I was talking to Mark and something he said didn't jive with what I had heard. I said I thought the plane wen down. He said no, it's right there. I turned around and then noticed the F-14 in the hangar was missing a canopy and rear seat for the first time. I was just happy that no one died. The next day however was a bit less than happy. Typically the aircrew buy the PRs and AMEs a bottle of their favorite adult beverage after riding the rail. Instead I was told the CAPT went by the AME shop and simply said "thanks for the seat brief guys". Needless to say he didn't win many friends that day.
Great story and thanks for sharing it with us.
I really enjoyed “Punks War” and I especially like how you blended a few of the actions of historically significant naval aviators with the characters in your book. “Soup” relieving the junior pilot so he could fly the lead is reminiscent of Admiral Stockdale and the beginning sortie of the Vietnam war. Surely that’s where the similarities between the Admiral and “Soup” end. However I’ve yet to read your other works.
Hey Mooch, another great vid. Coincidentally, I just read this story somewhere in the last few weeks (can't remember where) so it was a refresher course for me ;-)
Climbing out of Udorn in 1969, one of our RF-4C WSO’s inadvertently ejected. His clip board fell under the seat while they were climbing thru 10,000 ft. When he reached down to grab it, he felt some resistance but kept tugging. Evidently he was also pulling on the initiators for the rocket pack beneath the seat. The next thing he knows is that he is being ejected thru the canopy (canopy piercer took care of that), his chute automatically deploys after seat separation, and he is floating gently down into rural Thailand. The front seater said he heard this loud explosion, looked in his mirrors and the backseater was gone! He turned the aircraft, saw the chute, and initiated a SAR with Brigham, the controlling agency. He said the tough part was getting Brigham to understand that “Falcon 26 Bravo” had a good chute, but that “Falcon 26 Alpha” was still in the aircraft but would not require SAR, but wanted vectors back to Udorn for landing. I was in mobile for the landing and it was pretty neat to see a solo RF-4C land with no rear canopy and a big seat rail sticking up into the slipstream. Interestingly, the WSO was basically uninjured despite being bent over when the ejection occurred…
"He sees a good shoot..." Oh, wait... "good 'chute"!
I would chew my right arm off for a ride in a fighter, and other people get the opportunity and punch-out mid-flight. Life is cruel, man. Life is cruel. 😁
My nephews bride is a Physical Therapist in the USAF and my nephew is a USAF recruiter. She was instrumental in saving a civilian who had gone into insulin shock. The Air Force gave her a commendation and a ride in an F16. I the F16 ride made her day.😀
Start saving, it's not cheap, you can buy a flight in a fulcrum in Russia
Details of all of the hardware working always add a fascinating grab to your stories, Ward. At Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, AK, around 1979, my buddy (43rd TFS F-4E crew chief) described a fatal, in-hangar ejection seat mishap: the Martin-Baker rig had not been "safed" by the radio/avionics tech who was working in the cockpit. As he stood up, the long handle of a large pocket comb ("rake") protruding from his back pocket caught and pulled one of the face curtain loops and triggered the seat. Hangar #2. (I'm still trying to get the wing safety report from archives, but your episode today prompted this.) With the newer ACES rigs, so much is happening just within the first two seconds!
Got your complete trilogy -- commencing reading. Thanks for your unmatchable videos!
Thanks for the support, Dana!
Maintenance ejections like that are rare but almost always fatal. I have info on several sadly. The seats have a tremendous amount of power and flame and can kill people in the vicinity as well. This one doesn't sound familiar but I probably have some info in it in my files. This is one of the reasons I believe the upper handles were deleted from the newer seat families. I know of one where a Skyhawk Escapac upper handle was dislodged apparently by a pilot exiting the aircraft. The handles have to move a certain distance before they pull the linkages to initiate the seat and this one was not noticed until the aircraft had been respotted on the hanger deck. To disarm the seat the AME had to stand on the seat bucket facing it and remove the top cover then safe the linkages before reseating the handle. Unfortunately something went wrong and the seat fired killing him and injuring the two assisting AMEs. i think I heard one died later as well.
There's an incident with a maintainer on an F-4C at Hill AFB like that where the seat fired while the guy was working in/over the cockpit in a hangar. It was fatal. That F-4C is in the Hill AFB Museum on display.
@@WardCarroll Absolutely, sir! ...wish I could convey the huge wealth of experience and reality-checks of these stories into a continuing safety stir for the sharp, young aircrew life support techs & (bailout/back-automatic BA-22s) egress riggers I left in 2016. Sincere thanks to all of your followers for sharing these engaging, hands-on anecdotes! I tried folding a lot of mishap & shit-oh-dear-bad-karma stories into aircrew survival classes and training sessions with my shop crew -- simply to anchor down that nobody was ever immune. Especially if a minor or major Mx error was mine -- declare it and own it, and instill that into their character & confidence. Most of us willingly chose a dangerous calling (rated aircrew or maintainer), where you're close aboard brutally honest physics, pegged energy and totally unbiased about who or what's in the way.
In the 1960's my father retired from the Air Force, and returned the next day as a civil service tech in the same avionics shop he'd worked in for many years, at the time that squadron had F105's , he would get called into work on a lot of weekends and he would bring me along, he'd turn me over to some GI to take me out in the hanger to "play" while he would get to work. First thing they would do is take me over to the safety board and show me the same pictures of an ejection seat lodged in the rafters of the hanger and what was left of the guy that was in it. then tell me NOT to touch ANYTHING, then drop me into the cockpit to play pilot! All through the 60's and 70's I got to play in F105's, B52's, A7's, A4's, F15's, A10's, C130's and a few others I don't remember. I'm sure now days that would never happen.
"Because I was inverted" - awesome!
I worked on that aircraft at the navy repair depotin Jacksonville, Fl. We had just returned the aircraft back to the squadron, before this happened. after that, I and another tech, where sent out to Fallen to repair the aircraft. Funny now seeing this on RUclips, small world.
I do this in vr more times than I’d like to admit, I’ll be chilling with autopilot on during a really long stretch, put my controllers in my lap and half a second later I’m watching my plane fly off without me, I hand fly now
I was on the Fallon Range escorting DVs when this occurred. Hey Mooch; another great telling of a TINS story.
At the same time, a third distinguished visitor in my group was in a NSAWC FA-18D getting a fam flight. While airborne in our helicopter on a range tour with my DVs, the pilot said he heard on the radio that a back-seater of a fighter on the range ejected. We looked at one another with dread. YGBSM.
We immediately turned and recovered at Fallon, just in time to see Black Lion 101 roll out on his landing with an empty back seat. Whew - not our guy!
Our DV was in that NSAWC Hornet you mentioned that took over as On Scene Commander.
That night at the club I saw the humbled captain - a previous shipmate - who had a few facial cuts and scrapes, wounded pride, and great fortitude for being there.
Thanks for the color, Hozer!
There was a sea story kicking around when I was in about a "Motivation Flight" supposedly given to a senior SNCO in a Marine F4 Squadron. The story has it that they gave him a perfunctory brief, then strapped him in the RIO seat. The pilot went to burner and initiated a zoom climb at takeoff, our senior SNCO panicked and grabbed the loud handle, punched both of them out...
And that was why the Marine Corps quit offering Motivation Flights...
Like all sea stories, you may believe as much or as little as you like...
213 was my second squadron, I had just joined them right after they transitioned to 18's. Did get to see the last flight of the 14's on Oceana. Was a sexy jet!
My father accumulated something like 21,000 flight hours during his career as a naval aviator (he began flying in '42 and retired in '64). When I joined the Navy in '79, his only professional advice to me was "Never fly if you don't have to". This video illustrates why.
Did you get your wings?
@@KutWrite Nope. I was an enlisted (AX2). Thankfully, the Navy took one look at me and realized I was definitely not officer material. Between the Navy and me, I'm glad one of us had some common sense (I've a reckless streak in me a mile wide, which is definitely not an attribute you want in an officer operating a multi-million dollar weapons platform and making decisions that could appreciably reduce the life spans of others). But Dad knew that ASW techs often flew along on hops as IFTs (which I was). So, when there was a gripe that we couldn't duplicate on deck, up I went, which wasn't very often. When I moved over from S-3As to P-3As, there were a lot more opportunities to suit up, but since the ASW/COMM/NAV systems on the P-3 were markedly different from the S-3, I really didn't have the knowledge or experience base to justify flying in an IFT capacity, so I stayed firmly planted on the ground.
@@CaesarInVa Thanks. Sounds like you found a good spot. That's the key to a decent time in the military.
"21,000 flight hours"
Seems like you've added an extra zero. He'd have had to average nearly 1000 hours a year which is unlikely.
@@AA-xo9uw I know what I wrote. I can send you copies of Dad's flight logs if you like. As an assistant air officer with the Lexington's air group Dad flew anything he could get his hands on practically daily from January of 44 until she came home after the war in late 45, which racked up a lot of hours (SBD's, SB2Cs, F4Us and F6Fs), but where the numbers really racked up was the 6 years or so he spent flying Atlantic barrier missions in EC-121s. Those missions typically lasted 12 hours or so at a time and they flew at least two missions a week. He also spent time as a flight instructor, which added to the tally. The depressing thing is you can see the hours start to drop off appreciably around 62 or so when he was the senior aviator over at the Naval Research Lab. Seemed kind of a sad way to end a career, going from flying daily, sometimes twice in a day, to the minimum to maintain flight status.
As soon as you said the F-14 went inverted, I knew what had happened. No matter how tight you pull the straps, you come off the seat under negative G and it is uncomfortable. Since this was his first time in the F-14, he probably immediately looked for something to pull himself back into the seat and found the lower handle.
That's better than the SWO's story!
Was in that squadron when the incident occurred. Thats pretty much exactly what we were told happened.
@@drewmp05 Flying a cross country with "Jungle" Jim Ross (four time Blue Angels solo pilot). Climbing out of Miramar and getting everything set up in the back seat with flight plan, high altitude charts and such when Jungle rolled inverted and started climbing inverted. This being a cross country, my lap straps weren't that tight and I was immediately up against the canopy with charts and nav bag there as well. Couldn't reach the ICS foot switch to vent my displeasure at Jungle. Then he keyed the ICS and started singing an old cowboy song "Bullet in My Shoulder." He made it through the first verse before rolling upright. The start of a memorable three day Labor Day weekend cross country.
I was a PC in VF-213 when this incident occurred, fortunately I was PC for a another jet at the time, but it was definitely a very memorable day.
Great story!! I was one of the two voices of "AW" on Antietam for her first two cruises. LOL. This was after my time though.
You pull the handle, you’re going out!
Another life saved…. Kind of. He wasn’t in any danger but they all count. Glad everyone was ok. NACES is a fantastic seat which I have worked on for my whole life at MBA.
@@alexanderzerka8477 that’s very funny. MBA is the day job, filming my cat was a side project…
Ward my brother Thomas was an AO with 213 in 85 through 88 I believe.
Great to read some reflections from Navy vets. Makes military life come alive for someone who never served. Thank you gentlemen all.
I recently found your channel randomly as I was browsing warships on RUclips and since thing I’ve watched every one of your videos almost back to back. There’s something different and unique to your videos that keeps me, and I’m sure others, entertained from start to finish. You’re very well spoken and have incredible stories to tell. I look forward to many more exciting and interesting videos that I can learn from!
Martin Baker changed the ejection initiation position from the top of the seat to the base of the seat. This was done to protect the occupant from spinal damage during the ejection sequence.
Yeah, uh, I really doubt that's the reason. In fact, the exact opposite is true: more likely to have spine problems ejecting while looking down for the ejection handle between your legs. This is proven by actual ejection experience.
As Karl said that wasn't the reason. They always had the secondary handle on the seat pan and among other reasons it was found that most ejections were initiated by the lower handle. The upper handle was intended to provide a face blind to protect the face against windblast but more importantly to get the aircrew into the proper back position with the head back against the headrest and the spine straight. The detriment to the upper handles included more chance of an accidental discharge when entering or leaving the cockpit, and difficulty in reaching during a high-g mishap (think Top Gun- Maverick was pushed forward by the G forces of the spin and his arms couldn't overcome the force to reach for the handles, hence Goose initiated.)
@@theejectionsite1038 Exactly, thanks Kevin, two posts on two separate social media sites in one day 😀
Martin Baker installed the ejection initiation in the seat pan so as it encouraged the occupant to force against the seat during ejection, thus reducing forces against the spine.
@@ivan7453 LOL, well, if that was their intent, they failed miserably. The exact opposite happens most of the time.
LOL @ the Because I was Inverted t-shirt.
Great story Ward, love listening to your explanations.
Hahaha, I remember this vividly, heck I can still hear the line crew LPO for the HS squadron yelling "oh crap, a 14 just had an ejection", and about that time we seen the Huey rescue squadron start dragging their air craft our of the hangar.