Pilot dies after ejection seat fires while on the ground at Texas’s Sheppard AFB

An Air Force instructor pilot at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls died Tuesday after an accident on Monday.

According to a statement from the base, the pilot with the 80th Flying Training Wing died Tuesday after being injured Monday when the ejection seat of their T-6A Texan II aircraft activated while on the ground.

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Per Air Force policy, the pilot’s name is being withheld until 24 hours after the notification of next of kin.

An investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing.

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T-6A TEXAN II TRAINER

The T-6A Texan II is a single-engine two-seater aircraft that serves as a primary trainer for Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

In a training flight, an instructor can sit in the front or back seat; both seats have lightweight Martin-Baker ejection seats that are activated by a handle on the seat.

Student pilots prepare for take-off in the T-6 Texan II, March 27, 2019, at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Pilots train in the T-6 Texan II before moving on to other aircraft. — Student pilots prepare for take-off in the T-6 Texan II, on March 27, 2019, at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Pilots train in the T-6 Texan II before moving on to other aircraft.

TROUBLE WITH EJECTION SEATS

In 2022, the T-6 fleet and hundreds of other Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps jets were grounded after inspections revealed a potential defect with one component of the ejection seat's cartridge actuated devices, or CADs. The fleet was inspected and in some instances, the CADs were replaced.

When activated the cartridge explodes and starts the ejection sequence.

Ejection seats have been credited with saving pilots' lives, but they also have failed at critical moments in aircraft accidents. Investigators identified ejection seat failure as a partial cause of an F-16 crash that killed 1st Lt. David Schmitz, 32, in June 2020.

In 2018, four members of a B-1 bomber crew earned the Distinguished Flying Cross when, with their aircraft on fire, they discovered one of the four ejection seats was indicating failure. Instead of bailing out, all of the crew decided to remain in the burning aircraft and land it so they all would have the best chance of surviving. All of the crew survived.