Originally Posted by
pba_target
Canopy shattering with secondary breakers on the seats is fairly common in FJ types, this isn't unusual. Harrier, Hawk, Tucano (slightly different) all do the same thing.
IIRC, so does the T-45 (Hawk derivative).
I find my self puzzled and sad. I can only estimate, as above, something like an LOC (Ugly Jet Captain may be right) and (possibly) a bird strike. Bird strikes are not all that uncommon in that training area.
There was an accident back in the early 80's in a T-34C where a turkey buzzard hit the aircraft full on. The student was knocked out for a bit, the disoriented IP could not get the controls back as the student was bodily slumped over controls. Unable to control the aircraft, the IP bailed out. (No Martin Baker sear in the T-34C). Fortunately, the student revived before the plane hit the ground. He flew on. He made his way back (IIRC had not yet soloed at that point). Happy ending, could have been tragic.
To put the pieces of the puzzle together in this case ... a
guess follows. I only offer one because of my familiarity with accidents in Navy Priimary training going back to the early 1980's ... I flew a T-6 a few times but never NATOPS qualified in one.
In this case a bird strike might disorient the crew, and then I'm not sure what happens for it to end up as it did.
How long the IP is trying to fly out of it before realizing "time to eject" remains unclear.
OR (and I am going to
guess that this is more likely)
If this was an instrument flight, IP is up front with Student in back and
under the bag. With a turkey buzzard style bird strike, per above, IP is possibly disabled.
Student under the bag, a disabled IP may not be conscious enough to command eject.
Student may take a while to realize that things have gone horribly wrong ... and once they do realize it's too late?
OK, that's one way that we might have lost that crew, but
it could also be horribly wrong due to lack of details like "what kind of training flight was this?"
(ETA: I don't know/remember enough about the T-6Bs O2 system to guess at how that system might contribute to a loss of consciousness event. Too many details not synching up at this point).
Our two lost colleagues
are shown here.
You now fly with angels' wings.
Rest in peace.