F-18 Crash

I can remember reading something while I was in the Navy that basically said that naval aviators are required by regulation to not stay with a damaged or powerless aircraft below 10,000 feet. Once that altitude is reached, the chance of injuries or death greatly increases.

The message went on to describe an unspoken, unwritten code that many aviators had about doing everything possible to get a damaged aircraft back to base, even to the point o f risking their own personal safety, and how many senseless deaths had occurred because pilots refused to bail out when they should. The Navy was actively trying to change pilot mentality, and get them to realize that ejecting out of a bad aircraft was not dishonorable or cowardly, and that planes are replaceable, and pilots are not.

It seems to me that if this pilot ejected at 2200 feet, and he had plenty of time to try to get the plane back to base, he probably stayed with it way longer than he was supposed to. He might even be in trouble.

Originally posted by Pyros

It seems to me that if this pilot ejected at 2200 feet, and he had plenty of time to try to get the plane back to base, he probably stayed with it way longer than he was supposed to. He might even be in trouble.

The complete systems failure happened while he was on final approach, he was already well below 10,000ft at that time.

Remember, this started out as a single engine out problem - which is a routine issue pilots are trained to deal with, and not an immediate aircraft-disposable situation.