----- Excerpt from a U.S. Navy training booklet

I present this to you as a reminder that ejection seats and other aircraft powered egress systems contain energetic components that can be hazardous. Ejected seats can often contain unexploded components such as drogue gun cartridges and other devices intended for use in modes or secondary actions that may not need to occur. These CADs/PADs can last for many years still in armed states and can cause harm if they are accidentally actuated.

In two cases I have specific knowledge of ejected seats were recovered years after the ejection and CADs/PADs were still live. One, a Martin-Baker Mk N5 was recovered by fishermen from the bottom of a lake and the Manual Override Handle cartridge was still intact. Examination showed that it was possible that it may still have fired. The second was an ACES II from an F-16 that had vanished from a runway overrun mishap site alongside a highway. When five years later the seat was recovered a distance away in a swampy area the drogue gun cartridge was still unfired.

These and other stories I have heard from people finding cartridges on seats sold by DRMO or other sources show that all seats should be examined as if they are loaded guns. My personal practice is upon reciept of an ejection seat is to examine every mechanism for any sign of CAD/PADs before it is moved from where the shipper has delivered it.

I recommend to people who are not experienced in the mechanisms of an ejection seat to not move it until it has been investigated. When moving a seat you should also take care to not move any handles, or use any linkages to move the seat. Ejection seats can be very heavy and often unbalanced. My Mk J5D seat main beam assembly and bucket without the accessories is about 85lbs and tends to tip over. Before I had it on a permanent stand it tipped over and damaged a 1950s radio.

My practice with seats is to examine the shape and bulk carefully before attempting to lift or manipulate the seat. I'll review the location of all moving parts and make sure that my hands will not be pinched in any mechanisms.

Indeed, not all hazards of ejection seats are related to CAD/PADs. The ESCAPAC series for example has spring actuated canopy breakers on some models (ESCAPAC IG-5 in my collection is so equipped). These canopy breakers are released by movement of the seat firing handles and can cause harm if there are any body parts in their path. Other seats may have buckets that slide up or down and attempting to lift or move them while body parts are in pinch points may cause harm.

A personal example of another hazard is the F-16 ACES II. When I received mine I decided to reseat the firing handle and without instructions I took the precaution of examining the mechanism for how it functioned. There is a bellcrank assembly that is pulled by the handle which has a strong spring providing some 40lb pull force on the handle. To reset it I figured out where to place my hand to prevent pinching against the bellcrank housing. This examination took about 40 minutes and I thought I had assessed all the risks, however when I went to execute the plan I found I needed a little more leverage and rested my left hand on the rim of the seat bucket to steady it. The bellcrank was rotated and the handle retracted at speed into 'battery'. The web of my left hand between the fingers and thumb was brushed by the base of the handle as it seated. If I'd been a fraction closer it would have been a painful entrapment. I had thought the hand was clear enough but my assesment was wrong. I have certainly learned from that!

Resetting handles and other parts of seats now is another area where I spend the preparatory time to complete beforehand to prevent myself or others from being injured.

Please take precautions yourselves, Collecting egress systems is a relatively safe hobby but it has its own hazards!