F-15D Incentive Rider Punches Out ... On The Ground

billsgs126 said:
I assume this "totals" the airframe.
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I wouldn't think so. New canopy, new rear seat, not sure what kind of damage is done to the rear cockpit when the seat blasts out.

That being said, I do see online that the USAF is planning to retire the C and D model F-15s by 2026 to be fully replaced with F-15E and EX models. It appears this is one of 8 D models still in service, so early retirement may make more sense than repair.
 
It’s happened before; is there no reasonable preventative that will work? A mechanical/electrical lockout till taxiing?
 
billsgs126 said:
I assume this "totals" the airframe.
Click to expand...

No, not at all. But you can see the canopy laying on the back of the spine between the humps, so there will be some level of airframe damage. Those canopies are heavy. When the canopy cart fires, it's supposed to break the mounts and knock the canopy into the airstream. On the ground, it will knock the canopy back onto the aircraft. Fairly impressive that it stayed on the airplane and didn't roll off to one side. Other than the damage caused by the canopy striking the airframe, there would be heat damage/repair from the seat rocket motor, a new seat, a new (rebuilt) canopy, new canopy initiator (the explosive) and all canopy locking hardware. Fairly straight forward inspection and repair.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
It’s happened before; is there no reasonable preventative that will work? A mechanical/electrical lockout till taxiing?
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The B/D/E models have a seat isolation handle in the aft cockpit that you can set to engage different ejection modes. You can set it to Solo (self-expl), Aft-initiate which means if the rear seater pulls the handles, the front seat will auto eject prior to after the aft seat, and Manual mode (I think that's what it was called, it's been a decade or two) in which each seat initiates his own ejection. The seats should be "Dearmed" until taxi, which is a manual spring loaded handle that prevents the ejection handles from being pulled. They were usually "Armed" by pulling that handle aft when the aircraft began it's taxi... some units wouldn't arm the seat until at EOR right before taking the runway.


Edit to add, you know, after thinking about it, the "Arming" handle lays up against the ejection handle when in the "Dearmed" position. I bet 10 to 1 that this event happened when the pilot told the incentive rider to "Arm" his seat (yes, there would have been a thorough briefing about how to arm and dearm the seat prior to the person getting in the cockpit). If the arming handle was already down and the pilot told him to Arm his seat, he could have pulled the handle aft, thus ejecting his seat.
 
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midwestpa24 said:
I wouldn't think so. New canopy, new rear seat, not sure what kind of damage is done to the rear cockpit when the seat blasts out.

That being said, I do see online that the USAF is planning to retire the C and D model F-15s by 2026 to be fully replaced with F-15E and EX models. It appears this is one of 8 D models still in service, so early retirement may make more sense than repair.
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All active AF units are certainly retiring or have retired all their Cs and Ds, but there are still a few Guard and Reserve units that will continue to fly the Cs and Ds for a little while. But as you said, even most of those units will be transitioning in the near future. Or at least, that is the current plan. We'll see how it actually plays out.
 
I always had my incentive riders show me how to arm and de-arm the seat before I ever hopped in the front cockpit. Maybe that happened on this one too and the excitement just got the better of the backseater. Either way, it's a shame; far too few D models to give people well-deserved incentive rides. EX's are on the way, but it's a slow delivery schedule.
 
I would love to take a ride in one of these birds. Guess this back seater changed his mind. Hope he's okay.
 
aterry1067 said:
You can set it to Solo (self-expl), Aft-initiate which means if the rear seater pulls the handles, the front seat will auto eject prior to after the aft seat, and Manual mode (I think that's what it was called, it's been a decade or two) in which each seat initiates his own ejection
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In the F-16, I believe it was Solo (as you described), Aft (which, IIRC, if either pulls, both go) and Both, which was counterintuitive: if the rear pulled, only they went. If the front pulled, both went. As a Flight Surgeon, far and away most pilots had us fly in Aft. Some opted for Both and I always wondered if they had really considered the risk-benefit of me, a fairly frequent flyer, only getting myself out if there was a bird strike or something and how well they could fly it at speed without the canopy even if I did pull by mistake.

That was 35 years ago, so I may have mis-remembered the exacts but I’m pretty sure that’s all correct.
 
Llewtrah381 said:
…how well they could fly it at speed without the canopy even if I did pull by mistake...
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A classic Hornet got beat up by a tanker…jeez…20+ years ago over the skies of Afghanistan. Diverted to Pakistan down low instead going back to the boat. Happened on a buddy’s crew…story was he told the E-3 “I’m driving a convertible here”.

 
It’s happened in flight before with a Tomcat. Story starts at 2:00. I suppose with a windscreen it’s doable. An F-16 though? Never heard of anyone pulling that off with the “top down.”

 
TCABM said:
A classic Hornet got beat up by a tanker…jeez…20+ years ago over the skies of Afghanistan.[/URL]
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The first time a two-seat Hornet (back when it was still a TF-18A) attempted a plug by the back seater it ended with the probe ripped off and the canopy shattered.
This would have been mid-80's or so. There is quite a bit more to the story but this isn't the place for it.

Nauga,
blowing in the wind
 
During my crew chief hot training for F-15s at Tyndal AFB, FL in the ‘90s, we were out on the flight line and saw the fire trucks rushing out to the runway. This is fairly common and is a typical response to an IFE (in flight emergency). But to young new airmen, it was something exciting. A few short minutes later we watched a D model land with a student pilot and instructor, sans canopy. Not something we see everyday. A few days later we find out the story. The student was performing emergency gear extension scenarios. Instead of pulling the emer gear handle (left hand) he pulled the canopy eject handle (right hand) and popped the canopy off on final. I think he may have gotten a call sign out of it.
 
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