A decision to eject from a failing F-35B fighter and the betrayal in its wake

This was discussed four months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42098475

From my memory at the time, I was initially fully on the side of the pilot, but after reading through the discussion, I wasn't really sure anymore.

He didn't try to see if his flight controls (pitch, yaw, roll) were still responding, he didn't make use of the backup instruments, he didn't try the backup radio, and he had enough fuel to land elsewhere. The letter of the procedures may have said that he was in an out-of-control flight condition, but the procedures were too vague, and he should have had the experience to second-guess them and ascertain if his plane was actually out of control.

Sure, maybe all those things wouldn't have worked, and he would have had to eject. Or worse, they wouldn't have worked, and he would have spent enough time trying them that it would have been too late and he would have died.

But for better or worse, the actual outcome does matter: the plane was still flyable, and either a) he would have likely been able to successfully land, possibly at an alternate location with better weather, or b) he would have had the time and flight stability to try a bunch more options before deciding to eject.

I do find the circumstances strange, in how long it took for Marine brass to decide to relieve him of his command and torpedo his career. But I have no frame of reference for or experience around this, so perhaps it's not unusual. If he were just a rank-and-file pilot, he likely would have kept his position and continued on, perhaps with a bit of a bumpy road ahead. But he was given the command of an important group, a group tasked to refine flight procedures around this plane, and that comes with different expectations for his actions in the scenario he was in.

"But for better or worse, the actual outcome does matter" -- curious what you mean by that?

IIRC he had no visibility so he couldn't test controls with eyeballs, can only assume out-of-control-flight scenario. Backup instruments said he was below 6000ft above ground level, aka trust instrument = potential for single digit seconds from hitting ground, and supposedly the F35 manual states ejection is the only option under those conditions.

The recent video of the air ambulance impacting the ground is really "instructive" here. There are good indications that they believed they were in level flight either because of some instrument failure or lack of attention.

> He didn't try to see if his flight controls (pitch, yaw, roll) were still responding, he didn't make use of the backup instruments, he didn't try the backup radio, and he had enough fuel to land elsewhere. The letter of the procedures may have said that he was in an out-of-control flight condition, but the procedures were too vague, and he should have had the experience to second-guess them and ascertain if his plane was actually out of control.

If the article is correct, the issue started when he was 750 feet above the ground depending at 800 feet per minute. He decided to eject approximately 30 seconds layer, at an approximate above ground height of 350 feet. Presuming he decided to continue troubleshooting, he was going to impact the ground in 25 seconds, and the ejection seat does take a few seconds for the pilot to clear the fuselage (and any explosions at impact).

This is a tragic situation to be in. He was under an immense time pressure to make a decision and from his understanding, the plane was out-of-control. He also doesn't know for sure if his rate of decent has accelerated, so he might have been dozens of feet above the ground.

I understand the armchair flying with perfect understanding and time to think it through means that he should have tried more stuff, but in the seat? I would have ejected. I think the majority of folks would have.

He means that he prefers for that poor lad to have died trying to save a piece of metal. Simple stuff, there is no going around it. For some people money is above human life.

Extremely easy for you to write this treatise from the comfort of your armchair.

Do you understand this failure occurred at less than a thousand feet AGL?

Money is above human life at some point.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_of_life

But in this situation it sounds like the plane was highly likely to crash anyway so the estimated value you would save by potentially sacrificing him is low. Also I think the calculation is probably quite different in this situation compared to e.g. paying for safety measures in advance.

It started at 750ft

> Observe, orient: Jet still in the clouds, about 750 feet above ground, still in his control, descending glide path, about 800 feet per minute

Then brokenness again

> About 30 seconds had passed.

By then he might have been gliding halfway towards terrain.

> He felt the nose of the aircraft tilt upward. He felt a falling sensation.

Subtext is that this feels like stalling with only a few hundred feet and a few seconds left. There's no room to recover control surface.

There's only so much you can read in so little time with fallback instruments. Airspeed means squat, climb rate can be unreliable.

> Forty-one seconds.

Next loop is going to be either nothing happened or ground contact. What to you do.

>6000ft above ground level

Context is I remember reading comment that F35 manual calls for ejection if out of control flight under 6000ft agl. If pilot was at 750ft, it reinforces how little time/margin pilot had to make call and that he probably did everything he can until last minute.

The F-35, like most modern fighters, is highly unstable in pitch without active control. Yaw and roll have some aerodynamic stability depending on the plane's mode. VTOL mode is even less stable. In VTOL mode, no visual reference, failing flight instruments, with multiple fault indicators and what appeared to be a failed transition to conventional flight mode, it's hard to blame the pilot for punching out. The transition is one-button automatic, with automatic coordination of engine power and nozzle positions. It's possible to reverse the process at any point in the transition, although that didn't happen here.

The "Command report" is available here.[1] But at the point that relevant flight data recorder data ought to appear, it's censored. Power faults and crashes of one of the redundant flight computers are mentioned. No full timeline. The report mentions that the transition to conventional flight mode did happen after the pilot punched out. But there are no technical details as to whether it was slower than normal.

Not enough info to form an opinion.

[1] https://www.hqmc.marines.mil/Portals/61/Docs/FOIA/F-35%20Mis...

To be fair his armchair is under a thousand feet AGL too

Personally I think the risk he exposed others to gets too little attention. That jet could have come down anywhere. I can understand it’s a nerve wrecking situation and that ejecting is a likely outcome in any event, so “sooner rather than later” might feel like the better option. But sending the jet off as a cruise missile could have been avoided.

If I'm in a jet travelling towards the floor and I have the chance to survive by ejecting I will pull the level 10 times out of 10. The value of my life to me is approaching infinity in relative terms to the cost of a jet my employer pays for.

If you don't see anything, staying in the aircraft doesn't make it any less of a missile. If he didn't eject, he could have still crashed into houses exactly like it could have after ejecting.

Of course. This calculation obviously only applies to an abstract life.

Sorry but I'm sure that's not what he meant.

In the extreme, sure. And I’m not saying I know he was in the wrong. I’m just saying it’s something I think gets too little attention.

It was obviously possible to get the plane into a climb, because that’s how it ended up after he ejected. Once you are there is time to think and plan. Bad visibility doesn’t stretch infinity in the upward direction.

And how would you know if you’re climbing or not if you don’t trust the instruments?

If you still have a working attitude indicator you can trust, you obviously shouldn’t eject, but it sounds like he wasn’t sure if he could still rely on that. You don’t feel the direction the plane is going without instruments.

He had functioning backup instruments. It’s nerve wrecking of course, and I’m aware it’s a lot to ask, but if you want to fly a fighter jet I think that comes with an obligation to stay in the cockpit and try to avert a catastrophe even at significant risk to your own life. I would certainly be willing to take that risk myself.