F-18 Pilot Survives 695 MPH Ejection 🤯
An F-18 pilot recounts his harrowing experience ejecting at 695 mph while diving toward the ocean. He explains how the aircraft's G-limiter prevented him from pulling out of the dive, forcing him to eject just 2 seconds before impact at near-supersonic speed near sea level.
Summary
The pilot describes a critical incident where he was performing a nose-low dive in his F-18, accelerating well beyond the Top Gun recommended airspeed while pulling 7.5 Gs. As the aircraft entered the transonic region (approaching the speed of sound), the G-bucket safety system automatically overrode his control inputs to prevent structural damage to the aircraft from extreme aerodynamic forces. This left the pilot pointed directly at the ocean with no ability to maneuver, watching the whitecaps rush toward him as the radar altimeter blared warnings. With the jet traveling at approximately 95% the speed of sound (695 mph) at nearly sea level, he had only 2 seconds before ocean impact. He ejected at this critical moment, and the aircraft immediately struck the ocean and vaporized. The pilot notes that the most traumatic aspect of the incident was the physical impact of his body hitting the sound barrier during ejection.
Key Insights
- The G-bucket safety system automatically overrode the pilot's control inputs while in the transonic region to prevent aircraft structural failure, leaving him unable to pull out of the dive
- The pilot was diving nose-low at 7.5 Gs and accelerating through the transonic region where aerodynamic drag becomes extremely forceful on the aircraft
- The pilot ejected just 2 seconds before ocean impact while traveling at 695 mph (95% speed of sound) at near sea level altitude
- The jet struck the ocean immediately after ejection and completely vaporized upon impact
- The pilot identifies impacting the sound barrier with his body during ejection as the most traumatic aspect of the entire incident
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] Punch it. >> Did you not die ejecting at 695 mph? >> I was well above the Top Gun recommended air speed to maneuver nose low. I'm in about 7 and 1/2 Gs diving down at the ocean. It's accelerating and it hits the transonic region, which is basically right before you break the speed of sound. As I'm pulling this thing as hard as I could, all of a sudden I hit what's called the G bucket, which is designed to prevent the aircraft from overstressing itself as you hit that transonic region where the drag is extremely forceful on the aircraft. Basically overrode my control input. All [0:31] I knew is I was pointed straight at the…
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