The video begins with a vertical screen but switches to full at about :35.

"Class, this demonstrates the value of a zero-zero ejection system."

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/lo...eserve-base/3149776/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sigmund,

Looked like it was just a split second away from coming to a stop before the pilot ejected…I’m sure the zoomies will come in and tell us why.

I’m not faulting the pilot for bailing, just never been in that situation and don’t know OK..besides to obvious

Bitching Betty may have been like "EJECT EJECT EJECT" and he was just like... "well ok". Maybe was afraid something was about to explode.

Were the elevators supposed to be what looked like hard down like that?

It looked like the lift fan shut down but the main engine was spinning up and trying to flip it over ass first.

*sigh* Great video of how NOT to do a vertical landing.

He's got forward movement so it's not really a vertical landing but more of an RVL (rolling vertical landing) but more importantly he fails to go to idle upon touchdown, resulting in a huge landing "bounce" and then fails to keep the jet level by letting the nose drop. So unless there was some mechanical failure in the throttle quadrant or the engine not going to idle when commanded, the fault lies with the pilot.

I won't second guess the decision to eject because as a single seat pilot when you think it's time to go then you go. But he turned what might have been at worst a class B mishap into a class A.

They should show that clip to all the Marine F-35 pilots on what not to do.

"The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed Thursday afternoon the crashed aircraft was owned by Lockheed Martin and had not yet been transferred to the U.S. government. The DOD said it didn’t know specifics about the pilot, including whether he or she is a Marine. The Pentagon declined to comment further on the situation.

Lockheed Martin confirmed the pilot is a U.S. government employee. The company declined to comment on the cause of the crash until further investigation...'

Complete article:

https://www.star-telegram.com/...rticle270048007.html

Whoever was at the controls, one would think a factory pilot would be highly skilled and not making low-time pilot mistakes.

I am betting that the pilot was a high time test pilot that knew exactly what they were doing and that it was a software or fan glitch and the ejection sequence may have been automated and not by direct pilot command.

Damn they hit hard

It's been awhile and I can't say I'm completely up to speed on the latest aviation technology, but I'm not aware of any aircraft with an "automated" ejection system (one where the ejection happens without aircrew activation). I'm aware of automated flight recovery systems that will automatically fly the aircraft away from the ground under specific conditions, but automated ejections?

I'm thinking that the pilot pulled the handle as the jet was about to dribble off the runway.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:


Were the elevators supposed to be what looked like hard down like that?

It’s doing a vertical landing, so the elevators are doing almost nothing since there is almost no airflow over them. That’s probably just a standard position for this landing mode. The aircraft is being “supported” by the lift fan and the rear exhaust rotated down. Attitude control is done by the engines and puffer jets.

Was expecting destroyed plane bits everywhere from the thread title.
Sure pressed along on the nose for a while before the eject.

Does the eject sequence kill the engine?

I remember hearing stories of the USMC's Harriers having all sorts of problems that resembled this. Wasn't unusual to hear about Harrier pilots making sure they took a few tools on a flight as removing a panel was a possibility.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
I remember hearing stories of the USMC's Harriers having all sorts of problems that resembled this. Wasn't unusual to hear about Harrier pilots making sure they took a few tools on a flight as removing a panel was a possibility.

The Harrier had a lot of teething problems when it was introduced, especially in A and C models. The B version was almost an entirely different aircraft and much more stable with better slow speed & v/stol performance which increased safety and lowered accidents.

I'm not aware of pilots doing any wrenching on the Harrier. Oh I've added water to the tanks before but that's about it. I've ne er known a Harroer pilot to carry tools to work on the aircraft though.

Watching the crash video again, I'm thinking that when the plane bounced the pilot pushed the stick forward to get it down rather than pull power (It's almost instinctive to do so) causing the nose to hit the ground first. After that he's along for the ride but still appears he was slow to get the power to idle.

Again, perhaps a mechanical problem and if so it'll come out in the investigation, but my moneys on pilot error.

Watching the video, it looked like he was almost hovering and lost control of his sink rate (he seemed to be accelerating toward the ground. I wonder if he juiced it trying to stabilize the descent and gave it too much resulting in the bounce and theatrics.

The way it rotated after the bounce looks almost like the front tried to transition to forward flight while the back wasn't having it so I can see it being mechanical as well.

What has always confused me about airplane ejections is: how does the pilot get back in to land the plane?

He let the clutch out to fast. We've all been there.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
What has always confused me about airplane ejections is: how does the pilot get back in to land the plane?

deleted by an old grunt that had no business commenting.

now to find my crayons.

^ I think that's the vertical ducting (not sure the proper terminology here) opening, not the hatch, that you're seeing prior to eject.
Something flies off after ejecting (seat or canopy?).

To my complete non-expert eyes, that ejection looked prudent. When the aircraft nosed down and started rotating around on its side, I was expecting the plane to roll over.

Being trapped in an upside down crashed aircraft with the canopy pinned against the ground would be a Very Bad Day, especially with the risk of a fire.