Free Republic

A French defense contractor riding in a Dassault fighter learned the hard way that the grab bar next to his seat was actually the ejection handle. • A French defense-industry employee about to retire was gifted something he was extremely reluctant to accept: a ride in a Dassault fighter jet. • The 64-year-old was not correctly instructed, to say the least, in passenger etiquette, and to make a long story short, he self-ejected midflight. • He's okay, according to the government's incident report, but the chance of this gentleman ever repeating the stunt is definitely zero. Imagine: You work hard...

Iranian state-affiliated media has reported the death of two fighter pilots at Dezful Air Base, with claims a “technical defect” caused their ejector seats to engage, firing the pilots into the hangar roof.

A Belgian Air Force F-16B crashed today around 10:30hrs near the French town of Pluvignert in Brittany during a standard training flight. The jet just missed a local house as it went down but both aircrew were able to safely eject. The parachute of one of the pilots however got caught on high-tension electricity lines. The pilot who was dangling from the power lines was rescued by emergency services with the help from technicians from the local electricity company. The crashed jet was FB-18 with serial #80-3593 which left today from Florennes AB and was en route to the French...

Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier Crashes Outside MCAS Cherry Point; Pilot Safely Ejected By: Megan Eckstein May 20, 2019 8:49 PM A U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier conducts an aerial refuel during exercise Bayou Thunder off the coast of Louisiana, Jan. 29, 2019. The purpose of the exercise is to enhance Marine attack Squadron (VMA) 231’s air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities while also strengthening service interoperability with joint services. The aircraft is assigned to VMA-231, Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. US Marine Corps photo. A Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier crashed in North Carolina, and the pilot is being treated...

The Two Aircraft of the 57th Wing Were On Routine Training Mission. Early reports and a release from Nellis AFB say two Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, referred to as the “Warthog”, have crashed northwest of Las Vegas in the Nevada Test and Training Range. Both pilots of the single-seat ground attack aircraft ejected safely and were transported to the Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center at Nellis for evaluation. The accident occurred at approximately 8:00 PM local time in Nevada on Wed. Sept. 6. Sunset in the region was reported as 6:58 PM. Weather in the region was...

A US F/A-18 fighter jet suffering an engine problem crash landed Saturday at Bahrain International Airport and its pilot ejected from the aircraft after it ran off the runway, authorities said. The pilot escaped unharmed. The crash disrupted flights to and from the island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia that's home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet. Images on social media showed the grey fighter jet's nose tipped into the air but largely intact after what the Navy described as an 'uncontrollable' landing. The F-18 took off from the USS Nimitz, an aircraft carrier now in the Persian...

Local news reporting a Thunderbird crashed and the pilot safely ejected.

Two Saudi pilots ejected over the Red Sea on Friday after their fighter plane suffered a technical problem and were rescued with US assistance, state media said. "A plane of the F-15S type was stricken by a technical fault yesterday evening over the Red Sea and the two pilots were forced to use their rescue seats," state news agency SPA quoted a defense ministry official saying.

The U.S. Air Force and Navy rescued two Saudi pilots Friday after they ejected from their F-15 fighter over the Gulf of Aden during combat operations against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Saudi jet apparently suffered some mechanical problem forcing the pilots to eject. A U.S. Air Force Pave Hawk special operations helicopter and crew were dispatched from Djibouti to rescue the Saudi pilots.

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Members of the Massachusetts Air National Guard left for the site of an F-15 crash late Wednesday, hours after witnesses reported seeing a parachute deploy in the air. The eyewitness accounts of a pilot ejection near Elliot Knob, Va. were first published in the Staunton News Leader, although helicopters have not found a parachute.

A military aircraft crashed at Point Mugu Naval Air Station in Ventura County Wednesday afternoon. A Boeing 707 fuel tanker carrying 158,000 pounds of jet fuel crashed shortly after take-off around 5:25 p.m. and burst into flames. 3 people were reportedly onboard. All were able to escape with minor injuries, according to Teri Reid, an Air Station spokesperson. 13 emergency units initially responded to the fire. Ventura County Fire Department brought in a water dropping helicopter to battle the blaze. The cause of the accident was under investigation.

Two US airmen were forced to eject from their F-15E fighter jet over Libya on Monday night after an apparent mechanical failure, the US military said. The wreckage of their F-15E Strike Eagle jet, which crashed at 9.30pm GMT, was found near Benghazi. Vince Crawley, a spokesman for the Africa Command, said both crew members had been safely recovered and had received only minor injuries. Crawley said the crash was likely to have been caused by mechanical failure rather than hostile fire. He declined to give the location of the crash and would not say how the rescued crewmen were...

USS MOUNT WHITNEY, Mediterranean Sea, Mar 22, 2011 — Two crew members ejected from their U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle when the aircraft experienced equipment malfunction over northeast Libya, March 21, 2011 at approximately 10:30 p.m. CET. Both crew members ejected and are safe. The aircraft, based out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, was flying out of Aviano Air Base in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn at the time of the incident. The cause of the incident is under investigation. The identities will be released after the next of kin have been notified. Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn...

SAN AIR BASE, South Korea — An Air Force pilot escaped serious injury Thursday when he ejected before his F-16 fighter crashed while landing, authorities said. Base officials did not immediately identify the pilot, who was treated at the base hospital for minor cuts and released, said 1st Lt. Chris Hoyler, a spokesman for Osan’s 51st Fighter Wing. There were no other injuries or property damage reported in the crash, which occurred around 12:40 p.m., said. The fighter, an F-16C, had nearly touched down when the pilot ejected, Hoyler said. The pilot, assigned to the wing’s 36th Fighter Squadron, had...

A passenger enjoying a civilian joyride accidentally cut the trip short when he ejected himself from the plane after grabbing the eject lever while trying to brace himself. The passenger, who was flying in a Pilatus PC-7 Mk II with an air force pilot friend, The Daily Mail reported. He was instantly blasted 320-feet into the sky by the rocket-powered chair, before floating to the ground with an automatic parachute, the paper reported.

 Holy frak. Holy frak. HOLYROLLERBLADINGFRAK! Movie producers paid two Sukhoi Su-35 pilots to fly without a canopy at Mach 2.0, and have one of them eject in what probably is one of the most dangerous stunts ever filmed. While on this speed I even managed to pull out my fingers in glove for an inch or two outside - it became heated very fast because of immense friction force plane undergoes with the air. That's what the pilot who remained in the cabin said he did after his crazy comrade ejected, landing safely on the ground. I don't know...

FALLON, Nev. (AP) -- Two fighter jets from the U.S. Navy's elite training school collided Friday over northern Nevada's high desert, killing one pilot and injuring two others who parachuted to safety. The pilot who died was based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va., said Jeffery Wells, a spokesman at Fallon Naval Air Station. He was at the controls of an F/A-18C Hornet at the time of the crash.

News just coming out (at least I could not find another report here) http://www.kuam.com/news/26596.aspx

MIAMI (CBS News) ― The Air Force says both pilots from two missing fighter jets have been rescued in the Gulf of Mexico. Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Shirley Pigott confirmed the pilots' rescue. Their single-seat F-15C Eagles disappeared about 2 p.m. CST Wednesday off the Florida Panhandle, about 35 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base. More than 60 Coast Guard personnel had been involved in the search using multiple helicopters, cutters and jets, said Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless. Air Force officials are investigating. Coast guard officials in New Orleans told CBS News affiliate WWL-TV that they...

Two fighter jets crashed into the Gulf of Mexico during a training mission Wednesday, but the pilots ejected and were later rescued, the Air Force said. Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Shirley Pigott said the pilots were rescued after their single-seat F-15C Eagles disappeared Wednesday afternoon off the Florida Panhandle, about 35 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base. The Air Force has not determined if the planes collided. Weather in the area was clear. Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless said a Coast Guard rescue jet located one pilot and radioed the location to a fishing vessel, which picked...