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Old 24th Oct 2006, 17:55
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cwatters
 
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Tornado down in the wash, crew safe

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/arti...-C1-Headline-5

LONDON (Reuters) - Two Royal Air Force air crew parachuted to safety after their Tornado fighter jet crashed in Lincolnshire on Tuesday, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

"We can confirm that a Tornado has crashed on the Holbeach range near the Wash," an MoD spokeswoman said.

Both crew members in the two-seat plane were rescued by helicopter after safely ejecting and were taken to hospital for checks.
Reports on the BBC suggest they are being treated for spinal injuries, presumably as a result of the kick up the bum they recieved when ejecting.

Which got me thinking... I know the eject motor need to produce high g when the plane is going fast but what about when it's going slower? Do modern ejector seats have variable power to minimise spinal injury or is it an all or nothing shot? Are most of the ejections these days low speed peacetime events?
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