Retired BA/BY
Would it be possible for you to give us a bit more detail on the claim that so few aircrew knew how to correctly check the top latch?
That’s a hell of a claim and suggests that either I was the only one who used to teach it properly (which I know for a fact is not the case), that I myself was not teaching it properly (which I very much doubt is the case), that nobody pays any attention to ejection seat briefs (which I very much doubt) or that the author or reader is making incorrect assumptions.
I’m not suggesting that either you or the author are being slanderous in any way. I know you have a particular vested interest in ejection seat safety but I can assure you that in my 22 years of RAF service thus far, everyone I have ever met takes it as seriously as you do. So that claim seems a little off target to me.
The top latch in particular (I assume we are talking about the plunger) is one of the most vital checks and has always been stressed to pilots as such.
BV