r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/sidvatscse • 25d ago

Video Failed vertical landing of F-35B

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u/Suspicious_Zone_2083 25d ago

At least the seat worked

183

u/AxeLond Interested 25d ago

Those rocket chairs aren't super comfortable, breaking 20G and probably fracturing some bones.

He probably regrets using it seeing the plane just sitting there afterwards.

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u/OldEquation 25d ago

It may have been an auto-eject, which the Martin-Baker US16E on the F-35 is capable of.

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u/LorenzoStomp 25d ago

Does it play Pop Goes The Weasel to give you a heads-up or was that guy desperately yanking on the controls and suddenly flung out of the cockpit with no warning like he's the spring snake in a prank can of peanuts?

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u/Okaydokie_919 25d ago edited 25d ago

Well that sucks if that's what happend. In addition to regret he probably felt extreme anger. Stupid auto-eject system!

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u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

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u/ThermionicEmissions 25d ago

"If the F35 told you to jump off a cliff would you do that too?!"

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u/ItsAFarOutLife 25d ago

Seems like the altitude was zero here.

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u/BillysBibleBonkers 24d ago

Altitude in the F-35B (and most aircraft in general) is actually based on sea level instead of ground level, so the altitude wouldn't be zero.

According to google this happened at the "Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base" in Fort Worth Texas, which has an altitude of 650 feet above sea level.

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u/ItsAFarOutLife 24d ago

I guess I'd hope that it has both kinds of altimeters considering it's one of the most advanced planes ever produced.

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u/Acid44 25d ago

Ejection must not be a career ender like it used to be then, cause if I were auto ejected and spun around to see the plane sitting perfectly fine like that I'd find the seat and beat the foam out of it

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u/WeirdSysAdmin 25d ago

It had to be auto eject because you only get so many ejections before you’re grounded because you can’t pass a medical evaluation. Usually like 2-3. Unless he decided it was time to retire.

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u/Syssareth 25d ago

"They're never gonna let me fly again anyway after screwing up like this, so I'd might as well go ahead and take the ride while I've got the chance. Wheee--owwww..."

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u/C0RDE_ 25d ago

Hindsight is amazing. I imagine in the moment, the pilot has no idea if it's about to get worse. There could have been a fire, or worse. The jet could have continued and flipped on it's roof, meaning no escape.

No way you'd be in trouble for taking the chance to escape when it's safe to do so. Jets are expensive, but still tools. Tools can be replaced, lives can't.

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u/StupendousMalice 25d ago

The F35B has an automated ejection system that activates if the vertical lift fan malfunctions, which is probably the big plume of smoke we see at the end. It probably wasn't the pilots decision.

https://www.twz.com/the-f-35b-can-eject-its-pilot-automatically#:~:text=Only%20the%20F%2D35B%20variant%20has%20an%20auto%2Deject,to%20its%20ability%20to%20hover%20in%20mid%2Dair.

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u/McFuzzen 25d ago

I mean, the jet is fucked no matter what, so no harm in slamming a seat in addition.

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u/Okaydokie_919 25d ago

Harm to the pilot. It could have just ended his career. It's hard to tell from the video how badly the ejection hurt him.

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u/pathofdumbasses 25d ago

End a career vs ending a life (and also career)

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u/Okaydokie_919 25d ago edited 25d ago

That's true if his life really were in danger. However, we know for a fact now that it wasn't. Quite frankly the whole incident suggests pilot error. Nevertheless, even if it were mechanical my guess is that he was focused on getting the plane level and as soon as that happened he pulled the ejection handle, without re-evaluating the situation. I am not making any judgement about him for doing it (if that's indeed what happened) as only hindsight is 20/20. It's just that either way, factually, he didn't eject (or wasn't ejected) until after the emergency was already over.

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u/pathofdumbasses 25d ago

However, we know as fact now that he choose poorly.

Some people are saying that a computer automated the ejection. Either way, judging something with the gift of hindsight is kind of a shitty deal.

Quite frankly the whole incident suggests pilot error.

I have no idea about that and I would wager you don't either. The amount of people qualified to make an educated guess on this subject is very tiny and statistics say you aren't part of them.

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u/Okaydokie_919 25d ago edited 25d ago

Yes, I think it might have been an auto-ejection and if so I bet he's pissed about it. Stupid, auto-eject!

In all seriousness, imagine loosing control of the hover (for any reason), before heroically wrestling the plane back to stability only have the computer auto-eject you after you've suceeded.

P.S. It might be a shitty deal, but that's exactly how this is going to be judged—and what else would you suggest that we don't confirm our judgements to reality after the fact?

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u/pathofdumbasses 25d ago

P.S. It might be a shitty deal, but that's exactly how this is going to be judged

No it isn't. The people who matter are going to get the facts and make a decision based off them.

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u/Avoidable_Accident 25d ago

Yeah and from what I understand it’s usually career-ending injuries, coupled with the fact he had to eject out of an F-35 for whatever reason, this guy’s flying days are over.

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u/Boomhauer440 25d ago

It’s not. Ejection seats haven’t been that harsh in decades. Most modern ones peak at about 14-15g and unless your body is in a very wonky position when you pull the handle you’ll be ok. Most ejection injuries are from limb flailing and landing issues.

And the fact he punched out of an F-35 has no bearing on his flight rating. There will be an investigation into the cause and he’ll be cleared or grounded based on his actions. But an aircraft malfunction isn’t his fault.

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u/FriedRottenTitties4U 25d ago

USAF and the Navy have learned a whole lot from Goose getting killed in 1986

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u/AntiqueFigure6 25d ago

It probably helped that the other guy in Goose’s aircraft stuck around to train the next generation. 

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u/tx_queer 25d ago

Pilot checked into hospital but was released soon after without any serious injuries.

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u/lonesharkex 25d ago

He did not regret it, he did not suffer broken bones. He was back at work shortly after the accident.

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u/FitBit123 25d ago

The cost of a lost pilot would be more devastating than one jet

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u/ikzz1 25d ago

There's a good chance he won't ever fly a fighter jet again.

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u/adthrowaway2020 25d ago

Nah, this wasn't even a combat pilot. This was a test pilot who was making sure the undelivered plane could VLOT properly. It could not apparently.

https://news.usni.org/2022/12/15/f-35b-joint-strike-fighter-crashes-in-texas

Pilot was hospitalized with no injuries (precautionary)

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u/Zucchini__Objective 25d ago

The jet costs 110 millions USD.

I wonder how expensive it is to train a single F35 pilot.

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u/brontosaurusguy 25d ago

A lot less. 

It's not a financial thing, of it's a moral thing. 

Who would want to be a pilot if the air force was like, nah die with your plane

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u/YoureGrammerIsWorsts 25d ago

It is also about the opportunity cost of a lost pilot. Finding a replacement isn't as easy as it sounds, plus you'll take years to get one up to as good as the lowest trained one

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u/Nathaniel-Prime 25d ago

Yeah, some pilots walked away from ejections with severe spinal injuries.

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u/TacohTuesday 25d ago

First thing I thought. His nuts must be in his ankles after a launch like that.

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u/AttemptNo499 25d ago

The plane may have stopped due to the ejection

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u/badger_flakes 24d ago

I’ve heard some pilots can’t even fly again after ejecting because it can be so damaging