How My Dad Survived Bailing Out of a Sabre in '57
THE STORY OF HOW MY DAD SURVIVED BAILING OUT OF A SABRE IN 1957
by Ken Steacy Canadian Comics Legend
B
ack in the day, flying high-performance jet aircraft was the most dangerous occupation in the world, and sadly a number of pilots paid the ultimate price. One of my dad’s squadron-mates did just that near Chatham NB during the winter of 1957; crashing into a frozen lake. The investigation noted three holes in the ice: one apiece for the plane, the seat, and the pilot. It was believed that
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the pilot had been unable to extricate himself from the seat until just prior to impact. Dad (by then a S/L) took a Sabre up shortly thereafter in an effort to understand the conditions under which that tragic event had occurred. The salient difference being that his plane had recently been retrofitted with the new, improved automatic ejection seat. After a few attempts, he found he was unable to recover from what I believe
was a flat spin. He mentioned punching off the drop tanks, but not before ducking his head down in case they collided with the cockpit— imagine his dismay when he peered over the sill to see them formatting just off the wingtips! Ultimately, it was time to go; he recalls an enormous bang, but was knocked unconscious and the next thing he remembered was shaking his head and looking up at
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