Ejection is an important way for pilots to escape planes in case of emergency, but the incidence of injury accompanying ejection escape is also very high[1-3].
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In our evaluation we found that ejection seat evacuation is associated with a relatively high incidence of spinal injuries. Overall, 56.3% of aircrew members in our evaluation had some form of spine injuries, such as a contusion. In total, 33.0% even experienced a spine fracture.
Each phase of the ejection sequence is associated with characteristic injury patterns and of particular concern is the occurrence of spinal compression fractures, which are caused by the upward acceleration of the ejection seat.
The Air Force Safety Center carefully tracks how often pilots pass out, and in the last fiscal year—from October 1, 2018 to September, 30, 2019—there were 12 incidents, a small increase from past years. The 10-year average, according to the Safety Center, is about seven GLOC incidents per year.
Not true. I flew with a pilot that had ejected three times. Weirdly, I was with him (in another A-7) on two of those occasions. All three ejections occurred at slow speeds.
The most common cause of gear-up landings is the pilot simply forgetting to extend the landing gear before touchdown. On any retractable gear aircraft, lowering the landing gear is part of the pilot's landing checklist, which also includes items such as setting the flaps, propeller and mixture controls for landing.
Fighter jet pilots do carry guns in case they have to eject or land in enemy territory. The type of gun carried depends on the mission and can range from a handgun to an assault rifle. Generally, fighter jets are equipped with either a 9mm pistol or an M4 carbine rifle for self-defense if needed.