Canadian Forces Snowbirds CT-114 down in British Columbia

[Bob Viking]

A few points.

I’ve been reading this thread with interest and a few things spring to mind for me.

Firstly, I think worrying about the functioning of the seat is a bit of a red herring. Watching the video would suggest that very few seats could have saved their occupants from the parameters at which ejection was initiated.

Secondly, we are all assuming the jet suffered an engine failure of some sort. That may, of course, prove to not have been the case.

If this was indeed an engine failure I cannot help but think the pilot was a little aggressive with his pitch up. Indeed by rewatching the HUD video of the Moose Jaw Hawk ejection in 2005 the initial zoom and turn seemed equally aggressive and ultimately mistaken. He reached 2.8G which is only going to deplete energy when it is needed most. Maybe Moose Jaw actively teach this method.

I was the Stds O on 419 at CFB Cold Lake a few years back and I would not have expected someone to be quite so aggressive in such a situation. I have also operated out of Kamloops and I personally would have made a straight ahead, more gentle zoom with the side of a hill or the river as my desired aircraft impact point should the need arise. My aircraft would have needed close to 300 IAS to make a successful reciprocal EFATO approach. I cannot say what a Tutor would have needed. I doubt there was ever sufficient energy to get back to the airfield.

Finally I have to question (as I did when I worked there) the logic of a 2014 decision to cease practicing emergencies airborne. In the wake of a Cormorant accident where switches were inadvertently moved during a practice which resulted in a crash, all emergencies training was confined to simulators.

I cannot help but think that Canadian pilots will be more prone to the startle instinct as a result of this decision.

I have other thoughts on the issue but I will keep them to myself.

All fatal aircraft crashes are tragic and this is no exception. They become even more tragic when it appears subsequently that ‘the system’ may have set the individuals up for failure.

I desperately hope I am proven wrong on all counts.

BV