In 2002, Lieutenant Geoff Vickers, a pilot of the United States Navy, received an unusual order: he had to teach the commander of his combat group (a captain of aircraft carrier) how the F-14 Tomcat fighter responded in real maneuvers. The flight was not going to be combat but of exhibition. The stage, Fallon’s air base, in Nevada.
The commander arrived at the place with plenty of time and wanting action. As soon as you land, according to Finland magazine , He boasted of flying many times in the EA-6b Prowler, the Marine Electronic War Airplanes. “They have never made me vomit,” he released with a half smile before getting on the F-14.
Earth instruction was quick, almost commitment. And although Tomcat was much more demanding than a Prowler, Vickers opted for soft training. “I told him that we would make an investment with G negative, but I had already decided not to yield to the temptation to dizzy,” he told the portal years later Fighterjetsworld.
The plane loses the cover and the co -pilot disappears
The exit was clean. The flight, stable. During the first minutes, everything went as it should. But then Vickers put the plane face down. They were about 300 knots when it applied between 0.3 and 0.5 g negative, just for any loose object to float.
At that time he listened to a rumble, followed by shouts. The interior was filled with smoke, although it lasted just a few seconds. The cabin had just lost the canopy. “I thought that some system had petado,” recalled the pilot. But when stabilizing the flight and looking back, he understood what had happened. “I sent a message to the base: emergency, my river has just flown.” RIVER (Radar Intercept Officer) It is what the co-pilot who travels in the rear seat of the F-14 is called in military slang. In this case, his seat jumped through the air.
From the air, Vickers saw a parachute opening in the distance. He confirmed his radio position, turned the course and realized something else: now he piloted a convertible Tomcat. Another F-14 met to check if the structure of the plane had suffered damage. As everything seemed to be in order, he returned to the base without complications. The landing, incredibly, was soft.
On land, rescue teams located the commander. I only had scratches. Later, when they both talked again, Vickers began to tie ends. “The uncle told me that he did not know where to put his hands during the flight. He squeezed them in fists, and one of them was just five centimeters from the ejection lever. He never went through my head that someone could not know what to do with his hands,” said the pilot.
The investigation concluded that, when she was face down, the commander rose a few centimeters from the seat due to the negative G force. In that movement, he accidentally grabbed the lever and eject. He jumped straight to the ground, but the automatic system worked as it should. The parachute did his job and the scare remained in that.
