The Canopy

Time stood still as everyone around the hangar stared in disbelief at what had just conspired. The loud crack followed by a thunderous crash was still echoing around the premises as two personnel dashed under the wing. The crash sounded like a very heavy grand piano had just fell through the roof. People were trying to fit the pieces together.

“An accident, was it the ejection seat?!”

“It couldn’t have been explosives? They’re not housed here, and we’d be dead by now!”

Standing at the epicenter was clearly a very shaken boy in blue, with a 6 ft lanyard in his hand. The canopy just inches away from him. Shouts were then heard from infuriated officers around.

Very early into the training has the danger of the aircraft been emphasized to the greenhorn 501st batch. The cockpit had to be ‘safe-d’ before entry, donning of personal protective equipment – PPE in short – is a prerequisite before performing any task, walking under any flight control surfaces was forbidden. These were but a few of the safety precautions constantly drilled into their minds. This included the external canopy jettison which was only to be used under extenuating circumstances. The procedure was to run out with the lanyard to its maximum length of 6 ft pulling it, and running under a wing for cover. This was because there was no way of predicting where the canopy would land.

His mind now flashed back to the months of training past, and he could not believe what he had just done. What kind of influence was he under to have perform this grave mistake for no apparent reason. Curiosity had killed the cat, it was time to face the music.