During a training mission within exercise “Pitch Black 24” in Darwin, Northern Territories, I experienced a double engine flame out in my Eurofighter Typhoon. All attempts to relight them were unsuccessful, so at about 2000 feet above ground and at 200 knots, I had to pull the handle.

I was so grateful to every single person from the Martin-Baker family for being so professional and efficient. The entire ejection sequence went smoothly, and all the mechanisms worked perfectly. Luckily, I did not suffer any injuries at all.

After the incident, I had the chance to visit the factory and speak with some employees. Despite the huge amount of seats made every year, I was surprised to discover that the assembly of the seats is still entirely done by hand, with an extraordinary level of synergy, precision and attention to detail.

Thank you Martin-Baker. Thanks to all of you for making our job safer.