Originally Posted by
Lookleft
One report stated that there was a fire in the cockpit. It would explain the soot marks and why they decided to eject. Sounds like a good call.
Rocket seats are likely to make soot marks. Those marks recede at about 45 degrees much in line with the rocket flame trajectory. There was no fire showing in the video of the jet rolling down the runway after ejection. However, smoke in the cockpit is a possibility, which if it came from the engines, might have then disappeared once the engines were cut around ejection time. I know of two fatal ejections on takeoff when aircon heavy mist was mistaken for smoke but that's highly unlikely these days. Basically, if you are rolling significantly and you cant see you have to eject, especially given the reliability of today's seats as demonstrated in this case.