Pilot Ejected At Over 750 MPH

Aero-News has learned the Air Combat Command has released its findings regarding the April 5, 2006 accident involving an F-16CJ based at South Carolina's Shaw AFB.

ACC reports the F-16CJ Fighting Falcon pilot ejected from his aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean, after experiencing a gravity-induced loss of consciousness and awaking to find his aircraft in an unrecoverable dive.

The pilot suffered serious injuries during the high-speed ejection, which took place while the aircraft was traveling in excess of 750 miles per hour. The aircraft, assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw, crashed into the ocean approximately 80 miles northeast of Charleston, SC, and was destroyed.

The cost of the aircraft loss is estimated at nearly $23 million.

At the time of the incident the pilot was performing a high-gravity maneuver during a basic fighter maneuver training mission.

The investigating officer concluded there was substantial evidence that physical fatigue from flying five high-G sorties in three days, an extended layoff from flying and the mental stress associated with his instructor pilot upgrade training were contributing factors to the pilot's loss of consciousness.

FMI: www.af.mil