![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/0_Dassault-Rafale-B-of-the-French-Air-Force-300x213.jpg\")
\nDassault Rafale Bs<\/p>\n
\nDassault Rafale Bs<\/p>\n
Talk about an accident chain- Should have seen this one coming a mile away.<\/p>\n
Mason sends.<\/p>\n
The hapless 64-year-old says he didn’t want the once-in a lifetime flight in a 1,200mph fighter aircraft but felt pressured into accepting his workmates’ retirement day gift.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n A retirement day jolly ended in chaos and could easily have written off a \u00a365 million fighter jet after a panicked pensioner pulled the wrong lever.<\/p>\n The elderly gent, whose name has not been released to spare his blushes, had been gifted a flight in a French Air Force Rafale B fighter jet by his workmates at a military equipment manufacturer.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t start well. According to a report from France’s BEA-E aviation investigator released this week, the retiree\u2019s heart rate was between 136 and 142 beats per minute when he entered the cockpit, suggesting a state of extreme nervousness.<\/p>\n The 64-year-old told investigators that he felt pressured into accepting the flight, even though he was nervous, which only added to the stress.<\/p>\n The routine safety checks had reportedly been a bit sketchy too, with the passenger carrying out most of his personal set-up himself. As a result, his visor was left up, his anti-g trousers were not fastened properly, his oxygen mask wasn’t attached, and his seat straps were not pulled tight enough.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the pilot of the 1,200mph jet took off at a steep angle and proceeded to take part in a series of high-G manoeuvres in formation with two other Dassault Rafales.<\/p>\n The pensioner, looking for something to hang on to, unfortunately grabbed the handle of the ejector seat: \u201cDiscovering the feeling of the negative load factor, the insufficiently strapped and totally surprised passenger held onto the ejector handle and activated it unintentionally.\u201d<\/p>\n During the ejection, the civilian lost both his helmet and oxygen mask. The seat\u2019s integral dinghy failed to inflate but lucky the incident took place over land.<\/p>\n The Rafale’s ejector seat is designed to eject both pilot and co-pilot if either of them pulls the handle, in order to save both crew if one of them were to be wounded.<\/p>\n The ejection procedure has four stages: first, the rear canopy is shattered by a line of small explosive charges embedded into the glass. Then the passenger seat is ejected.<\/p>\n After that the front canopy is destroyed by explosives and finally the pilot is fired out of the plane.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Wow. The unprofessionalism displayed here is stunning. Obviously an inadequate safety brief, if one was given at all, no one checking the passenger’s flight gear for proper fit, and no ground crew to assist him in strapping into the jet. The blame for this ultimately lies with the pilot, who should lose his wings. Read the rest here: Daily Star<\/a><\/p>\n Thanks, Mason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"