Fighter pilot eager to return to jet cockpit

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This article was published 18/08/2010 (5714 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — Capt. Brian Bews was practising a manoeuvre he had already gone over dozens of times when he noticed something about his CF-18 fighter jet just didn’t feel right.

He was in the midst a "high alpha pass," in which the pilot slows the aircraft, turns up its nose and flies past the crowd taking in the airshow below.

A bit of turbulence during that move is common, especially if it’s windy — as it was the day of the ill-fated airshow rehearsal near Lethbridge, Alta., on July 23.

So Bews, 37, gunned his plane to full power in order to climb out of the move.

The plane didn’t respond. Instead, its nose started to drop to the right.

"It became immediately obvious to me that the jet was not acting like it normally acts," Bews recalled to reporters Tuesday.

"I was not in control of the aircraft anymore."

Bews wrestled with the jet for a few seconds before it looked like it was about to spiral towards the ground.

His training kicked in right away.

"I knew where the jet was going and I didn’t want to be there with it, so I knew my only chance of survival was to pull the ejection handle."

The sheer force Bews experienced as he catapulted out of the aircraft’s canopy was staggering.

"You’re sitting on a seat that is a rocket. It’s got almost 5,000 pounds of thrust that is applied to a guy who is about 175 pounds," he said.

"The thrust-to-weight ratio is enormous and there’s really no comparison to that."

Bews’ parachute opened shortly after, and he watched in disbelief as the jet turned onto its back and exploded into a massive fireball below.

The whole thing — from ejection to landing — took only four seconds.

Fortunately, the strong winds swept Bews away from the inferno. But he became tangled in his parachute lines as he dragged across the field. Eventually he managed to release them.

Face down on the ground, Bews noticed there was something wrong with his spine. He knew he had to stay totally still until help arrived.

Bews suffered three compressed vertebrae. He was told to wear a back brace for eight to 12 weeks — he figures it’s about six weeks until he can take it off — and isn’t experiencing any pain at the moment.

He considers himself fortunate he didn’t break his legs on impact.

Two days after the crash Bews watched a video of the crash from his hospital bed.

"It’s pretty dramatic. I guess my recollection of the event is a little bit different. I thought I had more time to get out," he said.

Since the accident, Bews has been asked several times if he’s reluctant to sit in the cockpit again.

"I wish I could fly today," he said.

Flying has been a lifelong passion for Bews, who said he’ll be able to fly fighter jets again as soon as his doctors give him the all-clear.

"It’s just the most amazing feeling. I just love that feeling and I want to do it every day."

 

— The Canadian Press