Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: amdcad!daveme%tekirl.labs.tek.com@RELAY.CS.NET (Dave Mead)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: The XB-70 bomber program.
Summary: "Funny" story about B-70 crash.
Message-ID: <9861@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 3 Oct 89 13:05:22 GMT
References: <27390@amdcad.AMD.COM>
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Lines: 22
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: Dave Mead 



There was a third B-70 I believe since I read a weird
story about the unique supersonic ejection system it
had. It was a self-contained clamshell affair designed
to force the crewman into fetal position and slam shut
just before punch-out. This thing had oxygen, survival
gear, chutes, and was to protect the crewman at high
altitude and supersonic speed. Well they had to use
the system for real and it didn't work right. The
timing was bad and the crewman got his appendages
broken when the clamshell slammed down on his very
non-fetal body and shot him unsealed into the cold
stratosphere. I think he was further injured passing
through the exit hole with mangled parts dangling.
The guy lived through it but really got munched.

			     Dave Mead