
Ejection Stories


Chris Burwell, Ejectee #3079
I parted company from my Harrier GR3 XW766 following an engine failure at low level in Northern Germany on 4 October 1979. Since I was operating from a field site at the time, requiring a maximum performance take-off from a small strip and a vertical landing back into the site, it was very fortunate that…

Clinton “Catfoot” Steele, Ejectee #5703
One of the most awesome things in life is living long enough to tell the tale, it’s a fact that not everyone has this privelage. I am grateful for two things..one..for thanking the Sergeant and his appy at the parachute section for packing the seat right..and two…now I have the chance at the age of…

Captain David “Mad Dog” B Gray, Ejectee #6145
I am 84 years young and will be celebrating my 57th wedding anniversary with my lovely wife. I was blessed with two children and wonderful grandchildren. I had a successful 10 year career in the Army and 30 years as a commercial pilot. I have your Martin-Baker ejection seat to thank for it! In January…

Andy Moir, Ejectee #2834
In the early 1970’s I read an RAF Flight Safety Report about an F4 Phantom accident in which the aircraft departed the runway at high speed. As a result, the cockpit floor distorted trapping the pilot’s foot under the rudder pedal and initiating the ejection seat – fortunately the seat didn’t fire. Consequently, the RAF…