CF188762 Hornet - Epilogue

May 19, 2022 - Royal Canadian Air Force

On 9 November 2020, CF188762, an aircraft assigned to the Quick Reaction Alert at 3 Wing Bagotville, was scrambled to launch as part of an active air defense mission. Upon commencing strap in procedures, the occurrence pilot noticed their leg restraint lines were not connected to the ejection seat.

In an effort to enable the pilot to effectively deploy the aircraft and complete the mission, a technician possessing no Aircraft Life Support Equipment authorizations attempted to re-attach the leg restraint lines to the ejection seat. The initial attempt at reconnecting was unsuccessful. The second attempt required the activation of the Manual Override Release handle in order to properly reroute a D-ring which had been missed during the initial re-attach attempt. Personnel involved did not realize that pulling the handle would also release the lap belt at the quick disconnect end. The pilot taxied to the active runway for take-off, but luckily the active air defense was cancelled prior to the aircraft launching. No damage or injury resulted from this occurrence.

The investigation could not conclusively determine the reason for the original disconnect of the leg restraint lines. The high desire to accomplish the mission, emphasized by Canada’s defense policy, was the main reason a non-authorised technician in Aircraft Life Support Equipment tried to re-attach the leg restraint lines.

The preventive measures focus on elevating risk assessments to higher operational authority, emphasizing ejection seat components training for technicians as well as during egress training for pilots. Additionally, they focus on expanding procedures that pertain to aircraft and operations at the Quick Reaction Alert.

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