Helmet Cam Captures Ejection

Anyone who wonders what it’s like to eject probably won’t come much closer than a video making the social media rounds. The brief helmet cam clip glimpses the split second…

Anyone who wonders what it’s like to eject probably won’t come much closer than a video making the social media rounds. The brief helmet cam clip glimpses the split second destiny changes that are part of the drill for jet jockeys and this one seems to take the time to reflect on that. The video apparently shows an SU-25 on a low level training run hitting a power line. The mishap reportedly occurred near Belogrod on the Ukraine border on June 22, 2022.

From the helmet cam, the plane is stable and really low before pitching up amid smoke and noise. There’s a glimpse of the canopy deploying and the plane crashing before the pilot hits the tilled and planted field below with a thud and a grunt an uncomfortably short time later. He takes a few moments to get his bearings before sitting up, surveying the scene and checking in by radio. 

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.