On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 07:43:57 -0400, "St. John Smythe"
wrote:

Moe wrote:
But the General outranked him and ordered him to leave it in the OFF
position, thereby making each seat a single-initiated ejection".

So, in a debate regarding flight safety, who is supposed to have the
last word, the PIC or the ranking officer?

IIRC OPNAV 3710 Series says that the Mission Commander has the final
say in operational decisions unless over-ridden by a flag officer or
an officer n tactical command (air wing commander, squadron commander,
etc.). That authority includes the power to over-ride "safety of
flight" questions. If a senior officer over-rides the normal decision
making chain then they assume the responsibility for the outcome (good
or bad).

I presume the Air Force has a similar rule.

It seems to me that the General's decision was flawed; while the
General might always be right he's always the General. The GIB had no
choice but to go along.

To the guys wth F-4 time: The story notes a small fire forward (in
the camera bay?). When the rear canopy separated and an airflow
channel developed, could that blast of high speed air (300kts.+++?)
have created enough of a "blow torch" effect to have
incapacitated/killed the pilot even assuming he had his mask on, visor
down, Nomex properly secured, etc.?


Bill Kambic
Haras Lucero, Kingston, TN
Mangalarga Marchador: Uma Raça, Uma Paixão