https://mobile.twitter.com/cbs11doug/status/1603466654704406530
Looks expensive. I think this is the first zero-zero F35 ejection video I’ve seen, so thought I’d share! Apparently the pilot is in hospital, but okay.
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It’s the sudden drop that gets me. Front fan failure?
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Or was the pilot’s response to the bounce on landing to close the throttle therefore removing the effect of the lift fan to maintain controlled flight?
The F35B I believe has an auto-ejection system for the pilot much like the Yak 38 and 41/141, as if the aircraft goes outside certain parameters the pilot leaves automatically.
I reckon the pilot could of ridden that out, probs wanted a new tie
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My understanding is that the auto eject only operates in hover parameters, not the situation this pilot ended up in. At least they can eject if it all goes wrong 
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Almost at a stable stop when ejected. Seems odd.
I’m assuming if the pilot pulled the handle when the aircraft was tilting forward and to the side it wouldn’t eject until the aircraft was upright again, given it’s altitude. The ejection happens when the aircraft rights itself, which seems to support this.
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He might have been getting mental fire warnings.
Engine FireWire is essentially a themoresisting wire that melts if it gets hot enough.
You bang it so the sides touch, hasn’t melted but it’s still shorting. Maybe that’s what happened? Crushed FireWire, loads of captions. And just noped out of there.
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Thats a recipe for disaster
It’s usually over a certain G-limit.
A Chinook has “crash-switches” that trigger certain avionics functions if they are activated.
Fast movers have something similar. Certain avionics functions trigger and the pilot gets out.
Loads of parameters in it. Won’t trigger if upside down is one i think, rocket propelling a growbag wearing master race into the deck at 4ft isn’t a good move.
It’s similar to the dual escape the Tonka’s had. IIRC the pilot could bang both out, but the WSO could only bang himself out. But the pilot could turn the dual eject off. So it’s an individual thing.
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A second look and I see the tip back from the angle, so perhaps.
@Horriblelittletechie 's point about warning systems is fair too.
Wouldn’t blame them, but I wonder if there was a panic reaction - the possible mishandling of the bounce taken into account as well.
But hey, pilot is alive and I’m sure those scratches will buff out. We may never in know more.
Great view of the eject though - something not usually seen so close and clearly.
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The change for the Tornado came about IIRC early in its life for the command eject settings to be set as you describe pilot could eject both but the navigator could only eject themselves and not the pilot. IIRC happened after a navigator with his head down in the cockpit felt it lurch over as a pilot pulled round to avoid an A10 at very low level in Germany and ejected them both without warning. After that command was set forward.
Edited to add: an inverted ejection happened in Wales about 30 years ago, Jaguar in the mid Wales low level corridor had a mid air collision with a Cessna which wasn’t supposed to be there. Jugular pulled up crippled and the plot OC 41 Squadron Wg Cdr. Pixton called eject as it was a T bird and the back seater Wg Cdr John Morden ejected but tragically the aircraft had started a roll and he was killed impacting the ground. Even more tragically John Morden had regained his fast jet flying capacity after a heat and lung transplant and was due to take up command of the OCU at Lossiemouth.
Some pilot on twitter thinks its a clutch issue and the fan/ rear went out of sync
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Interesting that most people use hindsight as the basis for trying to question pilots decision. Regardless of cause (nobody yet publicly know so no point in pretending to know or guess) the aircraft went outside operating envelope so pilot takes sensible decision to pull handle as soon as it is safe to do so (auto eject would have happened alot earlier). With that much debris injested there could have been a fire, if in doubt get out. I am sure if pilot could see into the future they would stayed for the ride as presumably ejecting isnt fun. Hopefully new tie isnt stuck in the mail system.
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That’s the tamest way I’ve ever seen of describing a platform slamming into the deck.
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Uncontrolled decent to FL 0.
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(Please read below in a nassely nerd voice)
I think you will actually find that depending on the local transition level and QNH “FL 0” may or may not be above or below the ‘elevation’ of the ground below, relative to mean sea level, taken from Datum.
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Despite thinking the literal same thing when it was written…
Seeing this actually written down in reply makes me want to vomit.
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