Yes that was an interesting time for me as I was scrambled earlier in the day whilst AT was unsuccessfully trying to hook up to the Scimitar tanker after the fuel loss due to the engine problems. The SAR Flight Whirlwind was also on his way but I beat him to it being faster - if I remember correctly the Vixen crashed about 40 miles from Ark. Sadly as you say the Observer couldn't eject - due to a faulty seat/hatch mechanism.