An Air Force instructor has died when the ejection seat went off while the plane was on the ground at a military base in Texas, the Air Force reported on Tuesday.
The pilot was in a plane at an Air Force base in Texas when the seat suddenly moved on Monday. The pilot went to the hospital and passed away on Tuesday, according to the Air Force. The pilot’s name was not being released until their family was told.
The T-6A Texan II is a small two-seat airplane that is used to train Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps pilots. During a practice flight, a teacher can sit in the front or back seat. Both seats have Martin-Baker ejection seats that can be activated by pulling a handle on the seat.
In 2022, many Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps jets, including the T-6 fleet, were not allowed to fly because they found a problem with part of the ejection seat. The group of vehicles was checked and in some cases, the computer-aided dispatch systems were switched with new ones.
When you set it off, the cartridge explodes and starts throwing things out.
Ejection seats have been praised for rescuing pilots, but they have also not worked in some plane crashes. The crash of an F-16 that killed 1st Lt David Schmitz in June 2020 was partially caused by a failure of the ejection seat.
In 2018, four people on a B-1 bomber plane got a special award for flying well. They found out that one of the ejection seats wasn’t working while their plane was on fire. Instead of leaving the burning plane, all the crew chose to stay and land it, so they had the best chance of living. All the people on the ship made it out alive.
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Air Force instructor killed as his ejection seat engaged on ground
