Air Force Pilots Bail Out of Fighter Jet as Stunts Go Tragically Awry

Startling video (via The Daily Mail) shows the moment two pilots ejected from their fighter jet, leaving one dead and another fighting for his life in the hospital.

Bangladesh Air Force pilot Asim Jawad and his co-pilot, Sohan Hasan Khan, were forced to bail out after a series of daredevil aerial stunts went horribly awry as they flew their Yakovlev Yak-130 over Chattogram, Bangladesh on May 9. Fishermen extracted Jawad and Khan from the Karnaphuli River and took them to a local hospital. Shortly thereafter, Jawad died from his injuries; Khan remains in critical condition.

Bangladesh’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) initially reported that the crash was “ due to a mechanical failure.” However, footage of the crash apparently reveals the true cause were three low-altitude aileron rolls that Jawad attempted to accomplish. Aileron rolls are full 360-degree turns, and it’s generally one of the first maneuvers taught in flight school.

“The footage reveals the jet scraping the runway at high speed, causing significant damage to the fuselage and igniting a fire,” a source explained to Daily Mail. “At the 19-second mark, a slowed-down analysis shows fragments of the aircraft detaching as it rebounds and gets airborne…The two pilots, demonstrating exceptional skill under pressure, managed to eject from the flaming jet.”

The source added that a typical ejection procedure exerts enough G-force on one’s body to result in temporary loss of consciousness.

This tragic incident mirrors the episode which occurred last September, when an American F-35 military jet went missing after its pilots were forced to eject over South Carolina.