An F-15D Eagle flight that was apparently intended to be a reward for hard work ended up not getting off the ground, when its passenger was ejected while the fighter was still on the flight line.
The video, posted Wednesday on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page, shows the immediate aftermath of the unusual on-the-ground ejection, as an F-15 from the 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts slowly rolls down the flight line, away from a plume of smoke that was left behind by the ejection.
The unfortunate airman who seconds before was its passenger, who the video’s caption identifies as a recruiting officer for the wing, can be seen next to the flight line, seemingly struggling to his feet. Smoke left over from the ejection also trails out of the F-15’s rear seat.
According to a report by The War Zone, the 104th said the ground mishap occurred Tuesday afternoon and prompted a 36-hour safety standdown of all flight operations, which has now ended.
There were apparently no injuries caused by the unexpected ejection, although one service member was sent to the hospital for an evaluation, the 104th said.
The incident is now being investigated, the 104th said.
Incentive flights like Tuesday’s are regular occurrences, typically offered as a reward for service members who excelled at their job.
On-the-ground ejections, however, are rare — but not unheard of. In 2019, a civilian going on a fly-along with the French Air Force was ejected from a Rafale B fighter jet during takeoff, injuring his back but not causing more serious harm.
And in December 2022, an F-35B pilot conducting a quality check on a new jet was forced to punch out of the jet at ground level when its engine failed in a dramatic and alarming way. Video of that crash showed the fighter hovering close to the ground and descending, then bouncing, tipping forward and spinning around with its nose and wing touching the ground before the ejection.
That incident led to a months-long delivery halt of new F-35s as engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney looked for a way to fix the engine vibration problem that led to that crash.
Tuesday’s mishap at the 104th, however, seems to have primarily prompted jokes and memes on web pages such as amn/nco/snco. One video, captioned “The Simpsons predicted the future once again” and shared by the Facebook page Thursday shows the character Milhouse sitting in the cockpit of an F-15 at an air show, angrily pretending to conduct strafing runs and stabbing at the jet’s controls — until he hits the wrong button and sends his ejection seat flying through the air.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
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