Martin-Baker ejection seat issues force groundings of multiple aircraft

Following the grounding of Hawk and Typhoon aircraft in the UK, the US Navy has grounded an unspecified number of F-18C/D, F-18E/F, EA-18G, F-5, and T-45 trainers. The Air Force has grounded 203 T-38s, and 79 T-6s, and now has extended that to the F-35A. The problem lies with Cartridge-Actuated Device systems in the seat. Only the CAD will need to be replaced, and only seats that fall within certain lot numbers will need to be inspected. Replacement CAD parts were shipped starting Sunday, and were inspected to ensure they were manufactured correctly and would work as required.

Cartridge-Activated Devices, and propellant activated devices (PAD) control multiple functions on the seat. There can be as many as 20 installed in each seat, and they control everything from canopy jettison, drogue chute deployment, and other functions. With a defective CAD, the seat may fire from the aircraft, but may not function properly during the rest of the process. The Air Force has 90 days to complete an inspection of all seats and get the aircraft flying. The CAD inspection and replacement can be performed at the unit level, with the aircraft at their home station. Not all aircraft using the MB seats will require inspection or replacement. The T-38 fleet has roughly 546 aircraft, with 209 of those requiring inspection. There are 446 T-6s in the inventory, and only 79 of those will require inspection. It's not clear how many Navy aircraft are affected, as the Navy won't say. It's also not clear yet how many F-35s will be affected.

The Air Force has grounded its fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters due to a problem with components of the ejector seats that could prevent the pilot from being able to eject safely during an emergency.

Air Combat Command spokeswoman Alexi Worley told the Washington Examiner on Friday that the stand-down was ordered Thursday, adding that the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution.”

“ACC’s F-35s do have Martin-Baker ejection seats, and on July 19, began a Time Compliance Technical Directive to inspect all of the cartridges on the ejection seat within 90 days,” she said. “Out of an abundance of caution, ACC units will execute a stand-down on July 29 to expedite the inspection process. Based on data gathered from those inspections, ACC will make a determination to resume operations.”

www.washingtonexaminer.com...

1st thought to my mind is where were those components manufactured and could this be on purpose like so many of those Nazi shells in WW2 that were "Made in Czechoslovakia"? But hey conspiracy site and all.

When it comes to aircraft and especially multi-million dollar military jets then you have to be sure it works, I hope thats the idea anyways. The grease munkey in me sort of envys the thought of the poor techs sweating their nads off wrenching on any of the mentioned birds but only for a short bit. I like my AC`d "hangar".

a reply to: StratosFear

There have been a surprising number of ejection seat issues in the last five years. It started with the B-1 fire out of Dyess. The EWO pulled the handle and the hatch blew and that was it. The B-1s were grounded immediately, and have been grounded at least once more for bad ejection seat components. The F-35 has had ejection seat issues as well, related to pilot weight.

During an inspection of an F-35 at Hill, while going through routine maintenance, a single CAD was found to only have a partial charge installed. The inspection takes about a day, and requires removing the seat. The F-35 has two CADs on it. If it can't be determined that the CADs are sufficiently charged, an x-ray can be taken to determine if it's good or not. Approximately 70% of the F-35 fleet has been inspected. The issue is F-35 specific, but since the parts came from the same factory, at the same time, AETC and the Navy are making sure their aircraft are good as well.