Inadvertent ejection.
Cunning Artificer
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A former electrical fitter colleague of mine was posted to the Red Sparrers in the Gnat days. They positioned to their display base with ground crew in the back seat. On this particular day, during start-up the intercomm was playing up, but they left Little Rizzy without getting it fixed. While executing a turn in the climb the aircraft began to vibrate violently and dropped a wing. My old mate in the back heard a buzz on the intercomm and without further ado yanked his handle, exiting the aeroplane. As soon as he left, the aircraft stopped vibrating and returned to normal flight. Matey alighted in a field about three seconds later, with his 'chute barely deployed and just missing a tree. He was quite naturally upset to see his former carriage flying away towards the airfield. Hitching a ride back with a farmer, he arrived at the squadron with parachute under his arm, to find his Gnat, sans canopy, parked outside the office. Although that particular aircraft had a reputation as a bit of a dog, and was later found to have a distorted wing, poor "Tez" has never lived it down and more than thirty years on, people (like me) still take the piss...
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When I got to Lagos, Nigeria in 1981 there was an old Russian bomber left over from the Biafra war that was parked in the bush across from our ramp. I think it was a 'Badger' but I cannot remember now. It had twin under-wing engines.
There were a lot of crazy people just left to wander around Lagos airport, Murtala Muhammed, in those days. One guy was nicknamed 'Airport Commandant' and he liked to mess around with the old bomber. I think he slept down the back. He would get up in the cockpit and be heard to be hammering away at various artifacts there to be found, but no one ever bothered to disturb him. Who wants to argue with a madman?
So, of course, one day there was a big bang and the madman and the pilot's ejection seat both went arcing through the air. He broke his neck when he came down on the wing was what I was told.
Then it turned out that the aircraft had been left fully armed. Bombs in the bomb bay and plenty of rounds for the cannon, too! The military came and towed it away, leaving the rest of us thanking our lucky stars that the madman chose to hammer on stuff in the cockpit and not in the bomb bay.
There were a lot of crazy people just left to wander around Lagos airport, Murtala Muhammed, in those days. One guy was nicknamed 'Airport Commandant' and he liked to mess around with the old bomber. I think he slept down the back. He would get up in the cockpit and be heard to be hammering away at various artifacts there to be found, but no one ever bothered to disturb him. Who wants to argue with a madman?
So, of course, one day there was a big bang and the madman and the pilot's ejection seat both went arcing through the air. He broke his neck when he came down on the wing was what I was told.
Then it turned out that the aircraft had been left fully armed. Bombs in the bomb bay and plenty of rounds for the cannon, too! The military came and towed it away, leaving the rest of us thanking our lucky stars that the madman chose to hammer on stuff in the cockpit and not in the bomb bay.
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Sled Dog
Samuel, i believe the incident you described with 64 Sqdn at Tengah ( double ejection ) was caused by the control locks being " on ", and the a/c had just taken off, not landing. A/c came down in the Jurong area , crew ok. ( I was there )
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Standing right next to me as I write is a visitor from the UK and a former member of 64 Sqn who , as I did, witnessed the incident, and the aircraft was landing. It may well have just taken off, but it was definitely completing a normal landing phase when it all went wrong! It did end up in the Jurong area! It had done the downwind bit and turned onto finals. The guy standing next to me was an armourer, who shared in the two crates of beer [only two!]provided by the pilot and nav! My understanding was that it was throttle locks that engaged, not control locks, without which being disengaged aircraft would surely never have got off the ground?
The pilot, incidentally, had a previous ejection to his credit! I wasn't offered any beer!
The pilot, incidentally, had a previous ejection to his credit! I wasn't offered any beer!
Last edited by Samuel; 28th Feb 2006 at 00:56.
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Sled Dog
Dragmaster control locks ( ailerons / rudder ) were activated by a short lever on the throttle box, and may have been engaged by accident. Only 20% power available due to an interlock mechanism if " on ", so i agree, must have been " off " before t/o. Fading memory indicates that the pilot may have been Flt Lt Hart ?
