RCAF Training Flight Ends with Ejection

Mark Phelps

Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at 11:17 PM ET

Verified

** RCAF CT-156 Harvard II**

Key Takeaways:

An RCAF instructor and student safely ejected from their CT-156 Harvard II trainer during a routine training flight due to an undisclosed issue with the landing gear.
The decision for a "controlled ejection" was made after a second aircraft confirmed the landing gear problem, deeming a landing attempt dangerous.
Both pilots landed safely about 5.5 kilometers from the airport, qualifying for the Caterpillar Club, while the C$8-10 million aircraft crashed in an open field.
Base officials praised the outcome, emphasizing that saving lives was paramount, and an investigation into the landing gear malfunction is underway.

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A Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) instructor pilot and student now have an uneven number of takeoffs and landings in their logbooks. Both qualified for membership in the Caterpillar Club by ejecting from their Beechcraft CT-156 Harvard II trainer during a routine training mission. The Harvard II is the Canadian version of the Texan II trainer used by American military forces.

An undisclosed issue with the turboprop single’s landing gear led to the “controlled ejection.” When the pilots realized they had a problem with the gear, a second aircraft from the RCAF’s 15 Moose Jaw Wing launched from the Saskatchewan training base to survey the issue. The observers determined the problem could result in a dangerous landing attempt, so the Wing decided that an ejection was the prudent course of action.