According to the Chief of the Air Force, the Hawk pilots effected the remote location of the crashed aircraft, which they successfully maneuvered before their own rescue.
The Hawk aircraft that crashed in Keru crashed in the middle of a conifer forest in Keru, about 500 meters from the nearest settlement. It is shown that the crash was survived without any irreversible damage, except for the destroyed Hawk.
Major Teemu Mahalmaki of the Air Force, who was interviewed next to the wreckage at the crash site, speculated to IS that the occupants of the crashed aircraft had the opportunity to prepare their own rescue and plan the aircraft’s possible landing site. For there were only a few tens of seconds. Fell on the ground.
Major Teemu Mahalmaki of the Air Force. Photo: Kalle Parkkinen
Prior to the accident, air combat drills were conducted at the Air War School. The two Hawks participating in the exercise practiced one-on-one aerial combat on Monday.
The Turma-Hawk was piloted by a flight student who has approximately 100 hours of Hawk flying experience. The rear instructor was an Air Combat Instructor with approximately 700 hours of Hawk experience. The age of the student is about 25 years and the age of the teacher is 30 years.
At the end of the maneuver, the unit’s lead aircraft announced that the other aircraft were breaking away from the fight. The separation occurred at an altitude of about 1.5–2 km.
Soon “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” was being shouted over the radio from Hawk’s controls. Based on the radio traffic, it could be concluded that the aircraft was shaking in the air.
For reasons yet unconfirmed, the engine of the crashed aircraft shut down mid-flight. It was then that the critical seconds began to run, during which time the cockpit was filled with thoughts of rescue.
– Even though the machine is made of iron and pulp, it somehow keeps on connecting (even with the engine off). The timing is in seconds, says Mahlamaki, but it’s not possible to weigh the options with a minute timer.
According to Mahlamäki, it seems the time had come to plan the most appropriate place in the cockpit for the plane to crash – one that would minimize both personal injuries and material damage.
The ejection seat jump from the accident aircraft ultimately occurred at an altitude of less than 500 m. According to the chief, this is a very “planned jump height”.
Mahlamäki believes that the teachers and students had survived according to the operating methods learned earlier. This means that the flight instructor has pulled the handle at the time the ejection seat jumps to be triggered with a millisecond difference from each other.
The delay ensures that the seats don’t “bump into each other” in the air, Mahlamaki says. Otherwise, the jump is very simultaneous.
– The projections of the benches’ ejection pipes are also a few degrees different, which creates differences in flight trajectories between throws.
Only the rear seat occupant of the Hawk has the ability to deploy both seats, but only the front driver can save himself. The plane that crashed on Monday was also parachuted out in December 1988.
A Hawk fighter aircraft of the Air Force crashed in the middle of an aerial combat exercise at Kairu yesterday. The pilots survived by ejection seats. Photo: Heikki Soukoma / Lehtikuva
Air traffic control informed the rescue team about the emergency, which according to a fairy tale already about 20-30 kilometers away resulted in the abort of the mission.
– The response time of the medical helicopter was exceptionally short, Mahlamaki says.
Both people rescued by jumping from the ejection seat were found to be able to work. According to the engineer in charge of the investigation, Lt Col Juha Vantila, the pilots were on their way out of the hospital on Tuesday.
Mahlamäki says he had a brief conversation with the flight student and instructor about his current well-being. The page also talks about the flow of events.
Hawke’s wreck lies for some time in the forest of Keru, where the road leading to it is difficult and wet. The wreck rests in several parts of a conifer forest, surrounded by trees and heather.
– With a high probability, he has time to aim at an area where tackles can be avoided, the leader evaluates the final result.
– He was relieved that the landing zone he had planned had come true. When we talked in the evening, it seemed that this is what was going on in his mind.
