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American specialized military publications continue to discuss the crash of the B-1B Lancer strategic bomber of the US Air Force, which occurred last Thursday in South Dakota. The aircraft was performing a training flight and was already landing at the airfield of the Ellsworth Air Force Base when the incident occurred. At about 17:50, the bomber crashed, all four pilots managed to eject.
Three pilots were treated on the spot, one with minor injuries was placed in a medical facility, the Air Force reported. After the crash, the plane caught fire and was extinguished by local firefighters. A commission composed of Air Force officers and experts has been established to study the causes of the crash.
Regardless of the cause, the disaster draws attention to the bomber's ejection seats, which worked normally and saved the pilots' lives. However, the American online military-themed publication Task & Purpose notes, this has not always been the case. Ejection seats are common on small fighters, but on larger aircraft such as the B-1B Lancer, there have been cases in the past of both successful ejection and catapult failure situations, including those that led to the death of pilots. This type of bomber is the largest Air Force aircraft with ACES II ejection seats with an escape hatch at the top.
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In 2018, the launch rocket of the ejection seat of one of the pilots failed on the B-1B when the crew tried to eject during an engine fire. The commander canceled the ejection, the plane was able to make an emergency landing, all the pilots remained alive. After this incident, the commission determined that outdated parts were the reason for the catapult failure. All ACES II ejection systems developed by Collins Aerospace were tested and upgraded, after which their operation was restored
In 1987, six crew members were on board the B-1B during a training flight, with two in seats not equipped with catapults. When an emergency occurred on the plane, three ejection seats worked normally, but one failed. As a result, the pilot was trapped on board with two other crew members. Although the B-1B has an escape hatch in the cockpit floor, none of the three escaped before the plane crashed.
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Currently, the US Air Force has 6,000 ACES II seats in service, including those installed on A-10, F-15, F-16, F-22, B-1B and B-2 aircraft. ACES technology was developed by Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of RTX Corporation (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies) in the late 70s of the last century. After that, the catapults were repeatedly upgraded and are considered one of the most reliable.
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During the operation of the seats, they saved the lives of 703 pilots. Unlike other ejection systems, when using ACES, the frequency of spinal injuries during ejection is less than one percent, a representative of RTX Corporation told Task & Purpose. A small number of failures in the operation of the ACES catapults over almost 50 years of their operation will not cause the US Air Force to abandon their use, the author concludes.