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“Man who never wanted to ride in fighter jet accidentally ejects himself”

A man who was terrified (cảm thấy khiếp sợ, rất kinh hãi) by his retirement gift (quà tặng chia tay khi nghỉ hưu) from co-workers (đồng nghiệp) — a ride in a fighter jet (máy bay phản lực, máy bay chiến đấu) — grabbed the ejector handle in a panic (hoảng sợ, hoảng loạn) and was launched through the skies 2,500 feet above the ground, says the official government report on the incident.

The ride on March 20, 2019, had been arranged as a surprise gift to the 64-year-old man, who was leaving his job at a French defense contractor. His co-workers took him to the Saint-Dizier air base, 100 miles east of Paris, and announced he would be flying in a Dassault Rafale B.

The man had never expressed any desire to fly in a fighter jet and had no military aviation (hàng không quân sự) experience, said the report by investigators (điều tra viên) for France’s aviation safety agency…

Safety checks were apparently lax, and he was allowed to adjust his own gear. His helmet (mũ bảo hiểm) strap was unfastened, his oxygen mask (mặt nạ dưỡng khí) unattached, his visor (lưới trai, tấm kính che mặt) was up, and his seat harness was loose.

On takeoff, the pilot and passenger were subjected to 4 Gs. Leveling off around 2,500 feet, that dropped to negative 0.6 Gs, a feeling of weightlessness. At that point, said a translated version of the report, “the insufficiently strapped and totally surprised passenger” grabbed for the nearest handle — which turned out to activate the ejector seat.

He landed in a field near the German border with only minor injuries. Here is the full story.

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