A 64-year-old French pensioner was ejected from the cockpit of a Dassault Rafale-B fighter jet during the course of an aerobatics flight out of Saint-Dizier, in the country’s north-east.
An incident report released by France’s Civil Aviation Authority blamed inadequate medical safeguards and safety protocols for the dramatic incident.
The 64-year-old defence manufacturing employee was gifted the flight by colleagues as a retirement present.
It is understood that he was pressured into partaking and that stress caused during the flight caused him to pull on the ejector handle.
“The passenger had been in a state of high stress over the course of the morning,” reads the report, which included data collected from the man’s smartwatch. “This stress continued once he boarded the plane.”
“The data indicates that he was in a state of tachycardia, with data indicating a heart rate which varied between 136 and 142 beats per minute.”
The unnamed civilian was subjected to a load factor of around +4G, before being hit with a negative load factor of -0.6G. In the course of these aerobatics, he unintentionally activated the ejector handle.
Though he was expelled from the aircraft, his parachute deployed without fault and he suffered only minor injuries.
The Rafale-B’s ejection system is designed to eject both pilot and passenger when pulled. However, due to a glitch in this setting, the pilot was not ejected properly and was able to safely land the aircraft back at Saint-Dizier. The BEA-E has commenced further investigations into this particular malfunction.
Other factors were identified by the BEA-E as of concern in this incident include:
- The passenger was examined by medical staff the morning of the flight, not allowing a ‘cooling-off’ period;
- The medical recommendations (including that he not be subjected to negative load factors) were not communicated to the pilot;
- The passenger carried out most of his safety pre-checks and installation into the cockpit by himself; and
- Before take-off, safety gear (including helmet, oxygen mask, visor, and anti-g pants) was not fitted properly.
