Has an aircraft ever “flown away” after the crew ejected?
An ejection seat in an aircraft is a system intended to save the pilot or other crew members during emergencies. Typically, the aircraft’s canopy is jettisoned, and an explosive charge or rocket motor propels the seat out of the plane with the occupant aboard. After clearing the aircraft, the ejection seat automatically releases a parachute. In two-seat aircraft, the seats are designed to eject at different angles to prevent them from colliding.
Before ejection seats were developed, pilots had to manually remove the canopy and climb out of the aircraft to escape. Ejection seats have significantly improved survival chances. But has an aircraft ever “flown away” after the crew ejected?
Control over 2 F-102s with orders to shoot down an F-4
Marc Santacroce, a former USAF controller who directed strike operations in Vietnam for a year, shared the following story on Quora:
‘Have to tell you my experience: I was controlling strike aircraft in Vietnam. An F-4 checks in with battle damage, couldn’t jettison armament, and couldn’t lower gear.
‘After consultation with HQ, the decision was to have the crew eject and the F-4 run out of fuel and crash in the Gulf of Tonkin. We scramble rescue forces to pick them up as soon as possible after ejecting.
‘Then they eject, and the F-4, fully bomb loaded, turns NE on its own, directly for Hainan Island (China)—hair on fire as we’re afraid to start WWIII—I got control over 2 F-102s out of Danang (Paine Red 1 & 2) with orders to shoot down the F-4 before it gets into Chinese airspace.
‘So off we go, full gate (with afterburners), climb, and set up to splash one F-4. However, she ran out of fuel before I could get my deuces in position to fire.’
Santacroce concludes,
‘The F-4 crashed into the Gulf—the crew was successfully recovered, BTW.
‘Another day, another dollar.’
Photo by U.S. Air Force
