Abstract
The article deals with the statistics of aviation accidents associated with the ejection of the crew in military jet fighter, fighter-trainer and trainer aircraft in the service of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic from 1948 until the end of 2016. It presents a unique, previously unpublished comprehensive overview of aviation accidents (disasters, air crashes and damage) in which the crew ejected, as well as a critical analysis of types of events involved, date of their origin, type and version of the aircraft and also the number of killed and rescued crew members. The figures are accompanied by numerous annotations and an overview of still accessible reference and information sources on the subject.
Highlights
Two basic questions were the reasons for this study: “How dangerous was and is the military jet flying for an aircraft crew?” and “What chance to survive does the crew have in a situation when it is no longer possible to complete the planned flight and to land safely?” The solution to this problem lies in the ability of the crew to abandon the aircraft in time and to land on the ground using another means
As far as the numerical evaluation is concerned, it might seem that the MiG‐15 and MiG‐21 were indisputably the most dangerous aircraft types for the crew; all we can only say is these types of aircraft were those with the highest number of AAs, which can be explained by their predestination and, even more importantly, by how many of them there were in active service
The statistical overviews show that AAs associated with aircraft crew ejections can be seen as one of the key indicators of flight safety
Summary
Two basic questions were the reasons for this study: “How dangerous was and is the military jet flying for an aircraft crew?” and “What chance to survive does the crew have in a situation when it is no longer possible to complete the planned flight and to land safely?” The solution to this problem lies in the ability of the crew to abandon the aircraft in time and to land on the ground using another means (parachute). Scope and Available Information Sources This study deals with the statistics of aviation accidents (hereinafter “AA”) of military jet fighters, fighter‐trainers and trainers in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic in 1948–2016 focusing on cases of ejection of one or more crew members. Cases in which the cockpits of the investigated types of jets were abandoned in flight by the crew jumping out, i.e. without using the ejection seat due to its malfunction, are not included either Two cases with such characteristics are known to the author: air crashes in MiG‐19 S (1959) and MiG‐15 SB (1964). It includes primarily a five‐volume staff manual for the Czechoslovak People’s Army Air Forces [11,12,13,14,15] It offers a comprehensive overview of AAs for the periods concerned, accompanied by explanations, reflections and statistical analyses. The most difficult to find today is the information about aviation accidents associated with ejections that took place in the 1950s and early 1960s
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
