Pilot trapped for 5h in cockpit of USAF's new $135m F-22A Raptor after canopy jams
ModernDiscuss Pilot trapped for 5h in cockpit of USAF's new $135m F-22A Raptor after canopy jams in the Other Eras forums; Raptor canopy stuck in down and locked position sawn open by fire crew after 5h
A fire crew had to ...
Pilot trapped for 5h in cockpit of USAF's new $135m F-22A Raptor after canopy jams
Raptor canopy stuck in down and locked position sawn open by fire crew after 5h
A fire crew had to cut open the canopy of a US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor fighter with chainsaws on 10 April to free the pilot, who had been trapped inside for 5h.
The canopy became stuck in the down and locked position and could not be opened manually after the pilot cycled the mechanism several times, following a pre-flight warning that the canopy was unlocked.
The cause of the malfunction has not been determined. The cost of replacing the canopy, which belongs to an aircraft from the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley AFB, Virginia, is estimated at more than $180,000.
On 10 April 2006 at approximately 08:15, aircraft 03-041 had a Red Ball for a canopy unlock indication. Attempts to clear the problems by cycling the canopy failed. The final cycling of the canopy resulted in it being in the down and locked position. The canopy would not cycle up from this position, trapping the pilot in the cockpit. The aircraft subsequently ground aborted.
Stranded inside the Raptor's cockpit, the pilot had to be cut free. Langley AFB consulted Lockheed Martin and the F-22A system programme office to determine alternate methods to open the canopy and extract the pilot.
__________________ "Pilot to copilot..... what are those mountain goats doing up here in the clouds?"
My dad got "stuck" in the cockpit of a Lightning once when the hydraulic pressure fell and the canopy closed. New starters often panicked in this situation, but my dad knew exactly how to get out. However, he used it as an excuse to get a good read so pulled out a book and began to read. Until the Chief Tech saw it and told them to get him out, simply by pumping the hydraulic pressure to lift the canopy. You could actually do it from the inside and lift the canopy with your back while standing on the seat.
__________________ "When you go home tomorrow, don't expect anyone to know what you have been through. Even if they did know, most people probably wouldn't care anyway. Some of you may get the medals you deserve, many more of you will not. But remember this, all of you are now members of the front-line club, and that is the most exclusive club in the world." - Lt. Col. Matthew Maer CO 1st Battalion, the Princess of Wale's Royal Regiment. Camp Abu Naji, Oct. 2004
Wherever their bones may lie, the courage of heroes is consecrated in the hearts and engraved in the history of the free. Lt Col Honner DSO MC, 39th Commander speaking of the dead from the battle of Kokoda.
very good......
To those in that club. 
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