HOLY KRAP! CF-18 Crashes At Air Show In Alberta Canada - Luckily Pilot Ejects Safely!

[Hardrock69]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/prairies/cf-18-fighter-jet-crashes-in-alberta/article1649943/#photos

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[VanHalener]

Yard Dart! That's gotta hurt.

[IcarntRite55]

he pulled out just in time

just like smikey

[Nickdfresh]

Air show crashes suck. :( At least the pilot made it. The one I witnessed, one of the pilots made it out but the other one was killed in the mid-air collision...

[Hardrock69]

LOL @ VanHalener....."yard dart" indeed! :lmao:

[BITEYOASS]

Damn! That pilot almost landed into the flames. :confused10

[WACF]

....ejected seconds before the crash - about 30 metres off the ground ....

Wow....

Crash pilot praises ejection seat

CALGARY - Among the people Capt. Brian Bews thanks for saving his life after ejecting from his CF-18 Hornet seconds before it burst into flames, one name stands out.

Martin Baker - the brand name of his ejection seat.

Speaking out for the first time since his plane slammed into the ground Friday during a practice run for the 2010 Alberta International Airshow in Lethbridge, Bews said he credits the ejection seat for allowing him to escape with his life.

"I feel extremely lucky considering the magnitude of the accident; Martin Baker is my new best friend!" he said in a statement.

Bews, 36, a member of 3 Wing stationed in Bagotville, Que., ejected seconds before the crash - about 30 metres off the ground - and sustained compression fractures in three vertebrae.

"I will be concentrating on rest for the next while, but will make a complete recovery," he said.

"I would like to thank the Canadian Forces SkyHawks and the other first responders for their quick reaction to the accident, as well as the staff at the Lethbridge hospital who have taken such great care of me.

" I would also like to thank my family, friends, my demo team and my air show family for their amazing support since the accident."

Maj. Rachel Morrell, Wing Surgeon at 4 Wing, Cold Lake, Alta., said given the amount of force from the ejection, the injuries Bews sustained are consistent with bails from aircrafts.

"We can expect a full recovery and return to duty for Captain Bews," Morrell said.

And Col. Alain Pelletier, Commander 3 Wing Bagotville, said Bews' quick thinking shows his experience and professionalism.

"His timely reactions and successful ejection during the event demonstrate his professionalism and are the outcome of two key elements: thorough training of our demo pilot and the survival equipment of our modernized CF-18," he said.

Born in Saskatchewan, Bews began flying in 1995 in Okotoks, then earned his commercial pilot licence at what is now Mount Royal University.

He joined the Canadian Forces in 1999.

The exact cause of the crash is still unknown.

[Hardrock69]

Looked to me as if one of the engines was losing power, causing it to slide off to the side as he was doing that slow stall float.
You have to have those suckers at virtually full throttle...as it was going so slow there was not really that much lift being created by the wings.

[thome]

Ahhhhhhhh, Roger....I think his Vector force directional cone thing that Vectors the force wouldn't Vector proper......Ovur..

[Hardrock69]

Could be that. The Vector, Victor, could have fallded off duh plane when de dukk tape got wore out huh huh huh huh......

[Nitro Express]

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I was at Mountain Home Air Force Base when one of the Thunderbirds crashed.

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I watched the Blue Angels last Saturday and one almost sucked in a seagull. but the bird went to the side and then got blasted by the jet wash and spun around in the air and fell to it's death. LOL!