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Darwin Awards
2009 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Plane Silly (honorary mention)

2009 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

It is probably best not to fiddle with switches or controls when riding passenger in an aeroplane.

A man who failed to obey that principle found himself hurtling out of the cockpit of a South African Air Force Pilatus PC-7 Mk II Astra, smashing through the Perspex canopy and into space after grabbing the black- and yellow-striped handle between his legs.

Despite receiving a brief prior to boarding the aircraft, he had inadvertently pulled the eject lever and found himself blasted 100 metres into the sky on his rocket-powered seat.

Investigators are assuming that the passenger tried to steady himself while the pilot was putting the Pilatus Astra through its paces by grabbing the eject lever.

The passenger was extremely lucky to survive the take-off with barely a scratch. It is possible for flyers who do not adopt the correct ejection position to sustain severe spinal inuries, or worse.

As one observer said: "What a trip. That guy took off in an Astra, came down in a parachute, and landed back at [Langebaanweg air] base in a helicopter. Not bad for a for a single flip."

Submitted on 11/03/2009

Submitted by: Emma B
Reference: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/02/south-africa-passenger-ejector-seat

Copyright © 2009 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
As somebody who has flown in the rear seat of a high performance stunt plane (which requires you to strap on a parachute just to strap into the plane) I'm afraid I have to vote against this. It is VERY easy to involuntarily grasp at things in the cockpit when going through extreme maneuvers if you're not properly trained. This guy, having likely never flown in a high performance aircraft before, simply did what came naturally to him when he started getting buffeted around in the cockpit. Thanks just the same, Emma.


Candi said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
What Bruce said.


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