My name is Stuart Mackay I was a Weapons Technician in the Royal Air Force from 1986 to 2000 and in Oct 1999 I was stationed in the Ejection Seat Bay at RAF Lossiemouth when the then Station Commander, Group Captain Alan Hudson, ejected from his GR.3A Jaguar of 16 Sqn.
Every ejection seat technician who has ever had his seat ‘tested’ will know the nervous moments until they know that the occupants are safe. I’m glad to say that Group Captain Hudson was relatively unscathed and joined us in the seat bay with the team of Armourers and Safety Equipment colleagues who maintained the seats of the Jaguars and Tornados that were stationed there at the time.
I was one of the team of technicians who had serviced his seat, a job well done, and presented him with a memento of his trip. I’m stood directly behind the Group captain sat in the seat.
