You do what you can for as long as you can, and when you finally can’t, you do the next best thing. You back up but you don’t give up.
Chuck Yeager
In aircraft, an ejection seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rocket motor, carrying the pilot with it. Once clear of the aircraft, the ejection seat deploys a parachute.
- Prior to WWII, the only means of escape from an incapacitated aircraft was to jump clear (“bailout”), and in many cases, this was difficult due to injury, the difficulty of egress from a confined space, g forces, the airflow past the aircraft, and other factors.
- The first ejection seats were developed independently during World War II by Heinkel and SAAB.
- Helmut Schenk, became the first person to escape from a stricken aircraft with an ejection seat on 13 January 1942.
- Early seats used a solid propellant charge to eject the pilot and seat by igniting the charge inside a telescoping tube attached to the seat. As aircraft speeds increased still further, this method proved inadequate to get the pilot sufficiently clear of the airframe. Increasing the amount of propellant risked damaging the occupant’s spine.
- In the early 1960s, deployment of rocket-powered ejection seats designed for use at supersonic speeds began.
- The purpose of an ejection seat is pilot survival. The pilot typically experiences an acceleration of about 14–18g.
- Pilots have successfully ejected from underwater in a handful of instances.
- Later zero-zero capability was developed to help aircrews escape upward from unrecoverable emergencies during low-altitude and/or low-speed flight, as well as ground mishaps.
Manufacturers have spent decades perfecting all the steps necessary for a fully automated ejection. The success rate for ejections has improved dramatically since the 1940s, from about 50 percent to approximately 90 percent today. While you have a one in three chance of breaking your spine – but you are trading a violent event for probable death. The modern ejection seat is a complex system, however, getting back to normal life after ejection is more complex.
When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.
Leonardo DaVinci
Flying fighter is the second most riskiest job in the world. In this article, we will meet one of the best fighter pilots of Indian Air Force Gp Capt Siddharth V Munje (Retd). He studied at Sainik School Satara and then joined National Defence Academy Pune and passing out in 1994. He is the man with unfathomable sincerity and dedication. One secret I would like to share with you is that you don’t believe anything that anybody tells you about a fighter pilot because words can not describe the attitude and aggressiveness. The next best is to read about what a fighter pilot has to say ..
1. Tell us something about your career in IAF? Flying hours, aircraft, and kind of missions that you have operated?
I got commissioned in the IAF on 17 Jun 1995 and joined 30 Sqn AF as a Pilot Officer for my Operational conversion on the MiG 21-FL. Having completed my Ops Day Syllabus, I was posted to 108 Sqn AF in Mar 1997 at Adampur. There I extensively flew the MiG 21 M/MF. I achieved my Fully Ops Status and Green Instrument Rating and was also declared a 4 ac leader. In May 2000, I got posted to 24 Sqn to convert on the Su-30K and achieved my Green IR and 4 ac lead on the Su-30K. In March 2004, we moved the Sqn to Bareilly. During the period Jun 05-Nov 05, I underwent the Fighter Combat Leader course at TACDE and was posted to 30 Sqn AF in Dec 2005, to convert onto the Su-30MKI. Thereafter till the time I retired from the Air Force in 2017, I continued flying the Su30 MKI in various roles in various Sqns. I also underwent the IRIE course in 2007 among various other courses. All in all, I have around 700 hrs on the MiG 21, 800 hrs on the Su30K, and 2000 hrs on the Su30MKI. I have participated in almost all the International exercises that the IAF has been involved in since 2004 to 2014 and flown with and against various Air Forces and aircraft like the F-15, F-16, M-2000C/D/N, M-2000-5, Rafale, Tornado, and Eurofighter in India, UK, and France. I have extensively participated in the Kargil Conflict wherein I flew 17 Strafing and Bombing missions against the Pakistani intruders and participated in many confidential Air to Air Missions along the LoC and IB operating the Su-30MKI. I am qualified on all roles that the Su-30MKI can undertake with maximum experience in Maritime Strike. I was also one of the pilots qualified on performing Low-Level Aerobatics on the Su-30MKI.
2. What do you like most about fighter flying?
There is no one particular thing that I can pinpoint. But among the various emotions that you go through in your life cycle as a fighter pilot, the most memorable is the sheer flow of adrenalin that rushes through your body while performing various maneuvers and operational roles on a weapon of war.
3. You had two ejections from the aircraft which is very rare. Please tell us about both the incidents.
My first Ejection was on 30 April 2009, in the Pokhran desert. It was as I was climbing passing an altitude of 9 km (30000 ft), that the aircraft suffered a complete Fly By Wire failure. From a climb pitch of + 10 deg, the aircraft violently bunted nose down and went onto its back and got stuck inverted. After multiple futile attempts to recover the aircraft, I initiated Ejection at an altitude of 1 km from an inverted aircraft. The second ejection was on 14 Oct 14, wherein the Ejection system malfunctioned while I was commencing an approach to land and without any warning, I was automatically ejected out of the aircraft.
4. It is very dangerous to eject from aircraft. Can you tell us why it is so? And what were your thoughts before you pulled the handle for ejection? Was it survival instinct or training?
I don’t think it is really dangerous to eject from an aircraft. It is far too dangerous to keep sitting in an aircraft after it is confirmed that the aircraft is going to crash. Having said that, Ejections are considered dangerous by most of the aircrew due to the fear of the unknown. To get out of your comfort zone which is the cockpit, to not be sure about the sequence of events that are going to follow due to never having ever experienced it, and to be scared of the resulting injuries to the Spine or other limbs is a very natural feeling. Fighter pilots are trained to recover sick aircraft to the best of their abilities but they are also trained to entertain the thought of leaving a sick aircraft at the correct time by initiating an ejection. More than the thought of survival, it is a discipline imbibed that you must use all your knowledge to try and recover the aircraft but having done that, when its time to go, you must get out. Fighter pilots are invaluable assets to the nation and you cannot afford to lose a fighter pilot because he was scared to eject at the right time. And so in my case, while I made all possible attempts to recover my aircraft, it was very clear in my mind that I would not violate the laid down minimum altitude of 1 Km in case the aircraft does not recover from the inverted position. And so on hitting the minimum permissible altitude, I announced that I am ejecting and pulled the ejection handles. The only thoughts all along the time since the aircraft went out of control till the time I ejected were to try and recover the aircraft by all possible means and to eject at the minimum altitude in case of failure to recover. That is the way all fighter pilots train.
5. As I know Ejection is one of the most violent experiences in life. What happened as you came out of the cockpit. What do you remember?
The process of ejection is indeed violent. The ejection seat fires at a force of anywhere between 20-30 G. I distinctly remember the entire sequence both the times. The initial force of ejection invariably grays you out as the body curls forward buckling under the force of propulsion. But the ears are still open and you do get to hear the surrounding sounds. Having separated from the seat you get a feeling of bliss hanging on the parachute falling like a feather which however is very short-lived. As you make contact with the ground you actually realize the rate at which at you are approaching the earth which is almost 21 feet per second. It is then that discipline again kicks in as you rehearse and get in the correct landing posture to minimize injuries and fractures which would be a result of your impact. Though I landed correctly both the times, I still fractured one vertebra each in both the ejections which most probably was a result of the force of ejection as it is in most cases. But that’s a very light price for staying alive.
6. What kind of injuries are pilot susceptible to after ejection and during subsequent landing. What is the most important thing to remember when you are ejecting?
The most likely injury is a fracture in the spine. That is primarily due to the force that acts on the spine when the seat is propelled out. Alongside, injuries/fractures to limbs are not totally unavoidable. No matter how much you plan and rehearse, the actual landing when you are descending at 21 feet/sec is not in any way soft. People slip, get dragged with the chute, fall face down and so on and so forth. But what we need to understand is that the parachute in an ejection seat is designed to save your life. It is not a wide-area sky diving parachute that can be controlled to cushion your impact. Notwithstanding, every pilot must remember to assume the correct ejection posture and the correct landing posture both of which are drilled into your brain from day one of fighter flying.
7. Generally pilots are not allowed to fly immediately after ejection. What is the reason?
Normally it takes three months for a fracture to completely heal, that apart a lot depends on an individual’s fitness levels. Apart from these two factors, it is worthwhile to let the pilot’s body get adequate rest post an ejection before you allow his body to undergo the physical stress of fighter flying and perhaps another unavoidable ejection if it were to so happen. In my case, I was back in the cockpit within three and a half months after my first ejection. However after my second ejection, though my spinal fracture had healed again within three months, the doctors found it best to keep me rested for a total of nine months before I resumed fighter flying again as they wanted me to be fully healed and rested in case I was forced to undergo a third ejection.
8. What kind of medical evaluation is carried out before you are declared fit to fly again.
The post ejection medical evaluation for fighter pilots is done by a dedicated team of neurologists and aviation medicine specialists at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at Bangalore. Apart from mandatory physiological tests, you are extensively subjected to high G loads starting from a mandatory minimum of 5 g all the way up to 8-9 G depending on your comfort and g tolerance at that point of time taking care not to overstress you unnecessarily. Thereafter a medical board decides your fitness and further suitability.
9. How did it feel both the time when you got back into the fighter cockpit? Were you anxious or scared or….?
I was always eager to get back in the fighter cockpit post both my ejections. There is no question of anxiety. Fighter flying as a profession cannot be forced on to anyone. It is voluntary first and skill-based thereafter. Fear is not an option. Anyone who feels scared to return to fighter flying should either conquer that fear or quit. Hard but simple. In my case, I think the passion and the urge to get back at the earliest perhaps healed me faster both the times. I can confidently say that I have never been happier than after getting back in the cockpit after my ejection and the subsequent breaks.
10. Was it different both the times? Can you please elaborate on that.
It was the same both times. The only difference was that after my first ejection, despite my spinal fracture I was totally asymptomatic whereas, after my second ejection, I had quite a lot of pain in my lower back which persists even today. But I have learned to live with it. That is my new normal. Notwithstanding, my urge to heal and the passion get back in the cockpit was the same. In fact, it was higher after the second ejection because practically everyone was telling me to stop saying it would be dreadful if I were to have a third ejection. The more the people tried to pull me away from the thought of flying, the more fired up I was on getting back in the cockpit. The thought of a third ejection never scared me.
11. What motivated you to regain your fitness and get back into fighter aircraft?
Like I have mentioned before, my passion for the profession and the urge to start flying as early as possible must be the real reason that I recovered fast. As all doctors say, the most important quality in a patient is the urge, belief, and willingness to heal. This is very much true from my own personal experience. Apart from that, I have always been fitness oriented. Starting with my Pilot Officer days, I have been running at least 8-10 km daily. Even today although I have stopped running, I still walk as much as 15 km daily my schedule permitting.
12. Generally, people are greatly affected by life-threatening experiences or trauma. How did you deal with the sense of loss of security and life-threatening experience? Tell us how your family and friends supported you. Anything that you wish was different and should be changed especially this may be a neglected area in the Air Force.
I never looked at it as a life-threatening experience. It comes with your profession. You train for these events and you harbor these thoughts at the back of your mind. It’s a machine which can fail and life might put you in this situation any day at any time. There were times that I did think whether I would be fit to ever get back in a fighter plane or not. Especially after my first ejection wherein, I was detected to have something called Schmorls node in my broken vertebra. A Schmorls node as far as I know is a weak point in the bone from where the bone (vertebra) can crack if I were to have a second ejection. Having been seen in the MRI, I was told that I would be permanently unfit for ejection seat aircraft. It did cause me a lot of trauma but as I said before, I was desperate to fly fighters again and I was prepared to go all the way and do whatever it takes to get my fitness back. As luck would have it, I was upgraded to full medical fitness via a different interpretation of the medical manuals on the Schmorls node condition. And not only did I fly fighters again, but I also ejected again, and again got my full medical fitness and flew fighters again a third time without any real damage to my body or life. The only thing that I wish could change was that in the armed forces, doctors don’t engage their patients and talk or explain things to them. You are left on your own to interpret things and keep hoping against hope. Regimentation should not be a governing factor between a doctor and a patient. A patient owes his life to a doctor and it is a doctor’s duty to keep the patient at least mentally happy. This is a much-neglected aspect across the armed forces.
13. What would be your advise to a person what has to deal with trauma.
Physical trauma is easy to deal with. Mental trauma is a function of your own state of mind. Every person needs to understand clearly that your mental well being is in your control. No matter what people say, I firmly believe that my peace of mind is my responsibility. Don’t let your mind defeat you. Don’t lose the battle when it comes to yourself. Have the mental hunger to get what you want, believe that you will do whatever it takes and fight all odds to get what you truly want and more than half your battle is already won. It is you versus yourself. Don’t let either side lose. Apart from that, our social structure is always our biggest source of strength. Family and friends can heal you like no medicine ever can. Hold them close. When you suffer, your family suffers. It is when you decide to end your own suffering is when you realize the miracles a family and friends can create to get you out of it. Don’t push them away. Give them a chance and see the results.
14. Any message for young generations who want to be a fighter pilot.
Go for it. But only if you are passionate about it. By passionate I mean if you feel it flowing through your veins and lungs. There is no profession more respectable and nobler apart from the other fighting arms of our armed forces. Fighter flying is not a job. It’s a way of life. It is a life long discipline. You can grow old and retire but you will always be a fighter pilot. Try and understand what that means and what you need to give to get you there. And once you have done that, there is no looking back ever….
Great pilots are made not born. It is the training, practice, and experience which makes them great.
Salute to men in blue. Jai Hind.
