Navy T-45C Goes For A Swim

[Hacker15e]

Why eject if you can step out, or is that quite tricky?

I don't know what the USN philosophy, but in the USAF if the jet was going to run off the end of the runway and into the water, we'd have ejected long before the airplane came to a stop and gave us the "opportunity" to find out if we could just unstrap and walk away.

Never mind what the deceleration forces would have been hitting the water, and the potential for the airplane to cartwheel, roll over, get torn up, etc -- avoiding all of that is sort of the point of the ejection seat. After all, it is the impact and deceleration forces that kill ya....

 

[MikeD]

I know that pilot, jet wasn't broken I did a JAG on another mishap of his later on.

The canopy doesn't fly off the Goshawk either, it shatters.

That's too bad. Would've been better if his jet had been broken like mine was.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Why eject if you can step out, or is that quite tricky?

"With this, or upon it!"

 

[Nark]

That's too bad. Would've been better if his jet had been broken like mine was.

Are you part of the uneven club?

 

[Pilot Fighter]

I don't know what the USN philosophy, but in the USAF if the jet was going to run off the end of the runway and into the water, we'd have ejected long before the airplane came to a stop and gave us the "opportunity" to find out if we could just unstrap and walk away.

Never mind what the deceleration forces would have been hitting the water, and the potential for the airplane to cartwheel, roll over, get torn up, etc -- avoiding all of that is sort of the point of the ejection seat. After all, it is the impact and deceleration forces that kill ya....

I can't imagine the Navy philosophy being any different than the AF philosophy.

With the understanding that failure to eject, ejecting outside the envelope, and drowning are the top three killers, I'd eject as soon as recovery was unlikely (versus possible) with a safe margin for crew (delays due to command ejection sequence), with the idea of staying dry. As zero-zero is on the edge of the ejection envelope, sooner the better. As a pudgy guy, a zero-zero ejection was only going to give me 150ft and not more than a swing, at best.

 

[///AMG]

I know a couple guys who have gone off the runway and didn't pull the handle. I think both of them got extremely lucky and survived to tell about it. In my personal opinion, if you are much over taxi speed and going into the weeds (or water in this case), ejection is the most likely way to live another day. There are many more historical anecdotes of guys who for whatever reason didn't, and it was all over right then and there.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

I know a couple guys who have gone off the runway and didn't pull the handle. I think both of them got extremely lucky and survived to tell about it. In my personal opinion, if you are much over taxi speed and going into the weeds (or water in this case), ejection is the most likely way to live another day. There are many more historical anecdotes of guys who for whatever reason didn't, and it was all over right then and there.

Unfortunatey, human nature and wishful thinking often rule the day.

 

[subpilot]

Looks like someone is going to SWO school now.......

Well then, it looks like he already got command of his first "boat."

 

[Pilot Fighter]

Looks like someone is going to SWO school now.......

....or supply corps.

 

[///AMG]

Unfortunatey, human nature and wishful thinking often rule the day.

yeah that is true. I have never truly been in a scenario where I thought I needed to do it so I really don't know how that response would go. Sitting here in a chair, it is easy to think you would, but in the jet, yeah....maybe not so much. The most dangerous, scary moments are normally just that.....a very fleeting moment where it isn't until later when it finally hits you how close you came.

 

[MikeD]

yeah that is true. I have never truly been in a scenario where I thought I needed to do it so I really don't know how that response would go. Sitting here in a chair, it is easy to think you would, but in the jet, yeah....maybe not so much. The most dangerous, scary moments are normally just that.....a very fleeting moment where it isn't until later when it finally hits you how close you came.

I'm always amazed at the carrier PLAT videos of cold cat shots or other malfunctions, where the crews seemingly make the split second decision to punch. It's impressive because thinking back to all my flights in ejection seat aircraft, I was never "primed" as much as I probably should have been to be ready to punch at a moments notice. And sitting here in my chair at 1G and 0 airspeed, typing this and thinking about it, there are any number of things that couldve gone wrong that could've necessitated it on a takeoff or landing. I remember being more primed to hit the stores jettison switch in order to clean the wings, pending I was still within the airfield boundary, due to having such an underpowered jet, moreso than I was in ejecting. Just an interesting thought experiment.

 

[///AMG]

I'm always amazed at the carrier PLAT videos of cold cat shots or other malfunctions, where the crews seemingly make the split second decision to punch. It's impressive because thinking back to all my flights in ejection seat aircraft, I was never "primed" as much as I probably should have been to be ready to punch at a moments notice. And sitting here in my chair at 1G and 0 airspeed, typing this and thinking about it, there are any number of things that couldve gone wrong that could've necessitated it on a takeoff or landing. I remember being more primed to hit the stores jettison switch in order to clean the wings, pending I was still within the airfield boundary, due to having such an underpowered jet, moreso than I was in ejecting. Just an interesting thought experiment.

yep, exactly what I was getting at. And at the boat, I was definitely more primed (if primed for anything) to hit the EJETT button in that event than I was anything else. At night, I was mainly just dependent on hopes/dreams/prayers. I'd probably know what a cold cat at night feels like now, but even then, I don't know if I would be able to see things in the radalt that didn't look right and compose them into the thought that "I'm not going to make it" in time to pull the handle. I think for this guy/gal, that decision was a little more obvious of course.......if you are dribbling off the runway into the water, that makes sense regardless.....nobody puts a jet into the water and lives to tell about it these days.

 

[bunk22]

That's too bad. Would've been better if his jet had been broken like mine was.

Tough on him, two ejections, two lost aircraft....he is/was a good pilot, bad situations made worse.

 

[troopernflight]

At what point in time of the landing can you guys still make the decision to go-around? Is it possible to touchdown, but realize you've got too much speed or landed too long, and get back off no problem? I'm obviously thinking in terms of a C172, but I was just curious what the typical procedures are for fighter types.

 

[Murdoughnut]

Do you still get the tie if you screwed the pooch?

 

[Autothrust Blue]

....or supply corps.

My lady-friend is a logistician.

Fighter pilots don't eat without them.

I know a couple guys who have gone off the runway and didn't pull the handle. I think both of them got extremely lucky and survived to tell about it. In my personal opinion, if you are much over taxi speed and going into the weeds (or water in this case), ejection is the most likely way to live another day. There are many more historical anecdotes of guys who for whatever reason didn't, and it was all over right then and there.

It really must be nice to have a choice.

(It really also sounds like this is a decision you make while in a recliner, and not when it really happens.)