Re: U2 ejection-semi OT


Message posted by Will (NorCal) on September 18, 2004 at 17:00:02 PST:

The comment regarding Powers' ejection or non-ejection exit from the airplane brought up a thought related to the U-2 crash here in Oroville several years ago.

I know th eU-2 has "zero-zero" ejection capability, but is is automatic? I.e., will the system eject the pilot if certain parameters are out of spec, or does the pilot have to decisively "punch out"?

In the case of the Oroville crash, it was reported that Lt. Robey (sp?) was killed when he was "ejected through the canopy". I have often thought that he was committed to staying with the airplane to reduce ground casualties. The plane "almost" hit an empty 50-acre-or so lot.....but did in fact impact the local newspaper building/parking lot.

I have often wondered if he was intentionally flying the U-2 away from the nearby school and housing tract....and was "auto-ejected" when airspeed/attitude/altitude went out of parameters. Is this a possibility, or would he have had to consciously punch out?

The end result was one civilian fatality on the ground....a newspaper subscriber had just left the office after paying her bill and was incinerated by the explosion/fire that ocurred upon impact. My sister-in-law was working at the paper at the time, and had left for lunch about 60 seconds before the crash. She was less than 1/2 mile up the road when the U-2 impacted her parking space.

The whole situation could have been a lot worse....houses and a school across the street to the east, CHP office and a busy highway to the west, and county administrative buildings to the north. It would seem that the pilot was aiming for the empty lot, but got ejected before he could hit it.

Will


In Reply to: Gary Powers and U2 ejection posted by Gus on September 18, 2004 at 10:22:59 PST:

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