November 8, 201114 yr The RAF is saying very specifically that he was "ejected out of the aeroplane". The use of the passive suggests that it was either inadvertent or uncommanded. Edited November 8, 201114 yr by Steve Davies
November 9, 201114 yr Is the Hawk a zero-zero seat? It's not zero-zero with the canopy open or with the canopy closed if you're not strapped in...no different than the Aces II. Hard to imagine how this happened.
November 9, 201114 yr It's not zero-zero with the canopy open or with the canopy closed if you're not strapped in...no different than the Aces II. Hard to imagine how this happened. It has been a while since I last flew the Hawk, but memory serves that the procedure is to safe the seat before opening the canopy. The photos suggest that the canopy was closed at the time of the mishap; the position of his flaps suggest that there was power on the aircraft. It's therefore likely that the seat pin was removed, the seat was hot, the engine was running and that he was strapped in. Rumours about the sequence of events would support this.
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