With only a split second before his plane hit the ground in giant ball of flame, this air force pilot miraculously managed to eject to safety.
As Captain Brian Bews, 36, of the Royal Canadian Air Force performed a daring low pass of an airfield yesterday, his CF-18 fighter jet suddenly stalled. But his quick reactions and his rocket-powered ejector seat saved his life as he was catapulted out of the stricken £30million aircraft.
A CF-18 fighter jet crashed while conducting an air-show practice flight at an Alberta airport Friday, but the pilot was able to safely eject before it exploded on impact.
Capt. Brian Bews was piloting the CF-18 Hornet, which was set to perform at the Alberta International AirShow this weekend, when the crash occurred at Lethbridge County Airport just after noon.
Capt. Holly Brown, a spokeswoman for 1 Canadian Air Division, said Bews is a demonstration pilot for that specific aircraft, noting his vast experience. “Capt. Bews, like any of our F-18 pilots, is highly trained, highly skilled and highly capable,” Brown said.
“It's a long journey to become an F-18 pilot, and our demo pilots are exceptionally proven. It's an honour to be selected as a demo pilot.
“Unfortunately today, something happened. He was going through his practice sessions and something happened. He had to eject and the aircraft impacted the airfield.” The pilot was about 30 metres from the ground when he ejected, and could be seen coming to rest just outside the ball of flame that erupted when the aircraft collided with the ground.
RCMP said Bews was brought to hospital and his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“We're just really thankful that he's OK,” Brown said, who would not provide details on his condition, citing the Privacy Act. It's not clear whether the plane ran into trouble during mid-air manoeuvres, or on takeoff or landing, but Brown said the Department of National Defence's Flight Safety Team is investigating. Private pilot Nathaniel Lockheart was watching the practice runs when he noticed something was wrong.
"He came in right over us, probably only 100 to 200 feet high,” he said. “It looked like he lost power out of his right engine. Only one afterburner was on and it was burning red hot.
