rickair7777

Looks like two crew survived, conflicting reports on injuries. Initial reports seem to indicate they crashed and ejected on the runway....

https://www.kmov.com/news/pilot-ejec...b77195563.html

BoilerUP

Um, isn't MidAmerica otherwise known as Scott AFB?

Also, that looks like an EX?

JohnBurke

"...and we know that this F-15 is a jet that boeing uses for international travel..."

Uh-huh.

Looks remarkably intact for an aircraft that "crashed."

Excargodog

WSO (or at least back seater) OK, pilot with minor injuries. Apparently ejected after successful landing and the AC rolled off into the grass. Reason for the ejection - if any - hasn’t been released yet. Hopefully it wasn’t inadvertent. That would be significantly worse than embarrassing...

JohnBurke

That little yellow and black handle wasn't the tilt lever for the bucket seats? Who'd have guessed?

Qatar Emiri air force. They'll buy more.

Ten to one says there's a royally ****ed IP with a sore back out there, right now. How does one write "poppertop" in arabic on a helmet, and is that too many syllables for a callsign?

rickair7777

Technically that's correct. Technically.

rickair7777

Some USN planes had individual ejection systems, each crew had to pull his own handle to go. There were a few incidents where the NFO got really scared on approach, punched out and the pilot salvaged it, went around and landed. That would be a tough carpet dance. And an even tougher reception in the ready room.

Excargodog

Allegedly true* story:

T-37 squadron got tasked to do “dollar rides” for junior ROTC cadets coming from a number of colleges. The exact etymology of the term escapes me, but what this meant was that the junior IPs would take a ROTC student up for about 15 minutes - maybe a quick tour around the local area, RTB, land, shutdown right engine, unload ROTC student, load new student, restart right engine,.., repeat until bingo fuel. The rationale for converting a ton of JP-4 into noise was allegedly ROTC student retention.

Pretty much all the time they were supposed to be on the flight line they were escorted - in groups of no more than four - by flight line knowledgeable personnel to keep them out of mischief. Prior to the flights, however, they were given training at the life support building where they were given a quick course in parachute landing falls on a simulator and a couple of try’s on the ejection seat simulator after having proper positioning explained to them.

On this occasion the last group - finishing in the morning - was given time off for lunch before their scheduled 1300 dollar rides. One ROTC student, uncertain about this whole dollar ride business decided she didn’t desire to face the prospect of a T-37 flight on a warm bumpy Texas day with a full stomach, just hung out outside life support which was just a parking lot away from the tarmac where a couple of T-37s were parked. The T-37 canopies were open, of course, because at Reese in the summertime closing them would cook the avionics. She decided to alleviate her anxiety about the upcoming flight by reviewing in the cockpit everything she’d been taught. As she explained later, ‘the engine wasn’t even on’ so assuming as long as the master switch wasn’t even on, everything was safe, she proceeded to review the handgrip(s) raised, trigger(s) squeezed boldface she’d been given.

Well, the T-37 seats had nothing approaching zero-zero capability - they were simply to make sure you cleared the empennage - which was fortunate because she wasn’t wearing a parachute. There was also some interference between the canopy bow and the seat on its way up the rails which further limited her altitude, but the butt snapper worked just fine separating her from the seat.

At that point the patron saint of fools, idiots, and ROTC students unquestionably intervened on her behalf. she landed outboard on the right stabilizer - causing a noticeable anhedral and a badly bruised butt, but remarkably little serious damage to either the aircraft or the ROTC student considering what might have happened. The T-37 was repaired and flew again. Not so sure the ROTC cadet ever did though.




*At least as related to us at the casual bar by our Wing CC (after a few drinks) who had been a T-37 FAIP at the now defunct Reese AFB at the time and place the story allegedly occurred.

ugleeual

the back seater in the F15E/S/Q/I rotates a handle selecting if one or both eject when handle is pulled.

joepilot

The story said USAF pilots. No personal knowledge.

Joe