BAILOUT!: FROM HITTING THE SILK TO PULLING THE HANDLE

Flight Journal, Feb 2004 by Tillman, Barrett

Judkins had severe injuries: a collapsed lung, multiple fractures of the pelvis and one vertebra, a severed tendon and broken ankles. The incredible shock of impact shut down his intestines and kidneys, and his core temperature dropped to 94 degrees. Doctors were astonished by his survival, which they attributed to one astounding fact: Judkins was the only pilot in his squadron without a spleen. It had been removed following an auto accident that occurred during training. Otherwise he would have bled to death.

Incredibly, Cliff Judkins not only survived but also returned to flight status. After six months of hospitalization, he resumed flying F-8s and eventually retired as a Delta captain.

There are ejections, and there are ejections! Even "routine" punch-outs are dramatic, but the variety of permutations seems endless. Among the most dramatic are low-level ejections without chute deployment. Such an episode occurred in October 1984 when a U.S. Navy EA-6B Prowler was lost when landing aboard USS Constellation (CV-64). Lt. Cmdr. Rick Morgan (Ret.), one of three electronic warfare officers in the crew, explained the incident:

"The third wire was only set for 10,000 pounds; we land at 45,500 pounds. The gear failed, and we went off the angle too fast to stop and too slow to fly. We three ECMOs got out with full chutes, but Lt. Cmdr. Greg Elcock, the driver, went out as the aircraft was about 80 degrees nose-down as it entered the water. He skipped a bit across the waves and had seat/man separation. The automatic SV-2 inflation device saved his life. Greg suffered two fractured vertebrae and some internal injuries and never flew again. This was his second mishap-he had jumped out of a RAG bird (training aircraft) 18 months prior-not his fault again (he was in the right seat for a new pilot who departed the bird). He was the only guy injured in that one: a broken collarbone. His wife was just happy to get him back after the second one."

If there's a worse situation than a zero-zero ejection, it's negative altitude and airspeed-under water. It has happened several times, though the record remains unclear as to how many attempts were successful. Perhaps the earliest known occurrence was in October 1954, when Lt. Bruce Macfarlane, a Royal Navy pilot, ditched his new Westland Wyvern off the bow of HMS Albion after an engine failure.

At an estimated 25 feet deep and a 30-degree nose-down, Macfarlane coolly sat still while the carrier proceeded above him. Then, in a sinking airplane, he released the canopy and pulled the ejection handle. The Martin-Baker Mk 2 seat fired, tumbling him into a submerged world of darkness. Nevertheless, he released his chute harness and clawed for the surface. Nearly drowned, he popped up astern of the ship, almost directly beneath the lifeguard helicopter. It was a very close call, as the carrier sliced the Wyvern in two. Macfarlane had missed death by seconds, but he entered M-B's record book as save number 66.

A similar incident occurred in 1976 when Cmdr. Peter Debras of the Indian Navy got a "cold cat" shot off the Vikrant. His Seahawk fighter sank rapidly, but Debras safely ejected.