A decision to eject from a failing F-35B fighter and the betrayal in its wake

Re:A decision to eject from a failing F-35B fighter and the ... by sneak on Monday March 31, 2025 @01:56AM (#43531579)

Implicit in this view is that a pilot’s life has a cash value and that value is something less than “hundreds of millions of dollars” or a single digit multiple thereof.

The plane in this incident was valued at $136M USD.

He was in reality about 1900 feet AGL at the time of ejection. Planes fall around 160 feet per second when stalled.

How much money would you accept to not pull an ejection lever for a few more seconds in a zero-visibility setting without instruments in a falling/stalling plane that you personally are sitting inside? How about at 1900 feet AGL? That’s 12 seconds before impact on a good day.

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Re:A decision to eject from a failing F-35B fighter and the ... by aussiethebob on Monday March 31, 2025 @04:47AM (#43532688)

I think the plane is only $136M in the context of the overall program and it's projected number of planes built over the program lifespan.

The materials and labor for a single plane are far lower.

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Re:A decision to eject from a failing F-35B fighter and the ... by spoonjim on Monday March 31, 2025 @09:50PM (#43542020)

Of all places, the military is quite explicit about using human lives as expendable resources to achieve objectives.

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