>The subject’s last memory before passing out was the realization that the water on his tongue was boiling, according to NASA.<p>That is not something I would ever want to experience.<p>I wonder how similar this environment is the the SR71 that disintegrated [1]. Luckily the SR71 pilots wore space suits with this happened. Otherwise I dont think he would have survived.<p>[1]<a href="http://www.916-starfighter.de/SR-71_Waever.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.916-starfighter.de/SR-71_Waever.htm</a>
Crash investigation (Source - NTSB : <a href="http://www.ntsb.gov/news/2014/141112.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ntsb.gov/news/2014/141112.html</a>)<p>According to the pilot, he was unaware that the feather system had been unlocked early by the copilot. His description of the vehicle motion was consistent with other data sources in the investigation. He stated that he was extracted from the vehicle as a result of the break-up sequence and unbuckled from his seat at some point before the parachute deployed automatically.
Recorded information from telemetry, non-volatile memory, and videos are being processed and validated to assist the investigative groups.<p>... The investigation is ongoing. Any future updates will be issued as events warrant.
To survive this is absolutely incredible, the only pitty is that the article lacks so many interesting details!<p>Was he wearing the chute on his back? (So,he had to get out of his seat to be able to open)<p>What kind of AAD was he wearing ? (was it an off the shelf AAD like a Cypress?)<p>What where it's settings? pass through such altitude at such vertical speed to open..<p>Any one knows? any links?
After all the speculation about engine failure, it sounds like the culprit is a combination of poor design and pilot error.<p>The "Feather System" was unlocked by a pilot too early in the flight, then air currents caused it to activate in atmosphere instead of near vacuum - likely tearing the ship apart.
Does anybody know if it's common that an aircraft can be structurally compromised like that due to user error?<p>I can easily imagine the stress on the airframe doing manoeuvres like this, if I were a pilot I'd be absolutely terrified that it were possible for me to flip a switch and just have the vehicle I'm in disintegrate around me.<p>edit: whoops, commented on a day old thread, what a dingus
> <i>“I can’t imagine the forces he must have experienced being thrown out of the aircraft,” Sventek, who spent 31 years in the U.S. Air Force, said in an interview.</i><p>Some initial impulse from the ejecting motion of the craft breakup, and then immediately after losing contact, the only net force should be the one from air drag due to the velocity. There is gravity, of course, but in free-fall, that force is balanced by your acceleration so you don't feel it. As you reach terminal velocity, it rises toward 1g.<p>That air drag would be a big force, though, when you're thrown into the air at the craft's velocity.
Are they seriously going to blame the dead pilot for the crash.<p>Even if he might have caused it, playing the blame game does not feel very professional. I would be very careful before making such a statement.