Viral video: Pilot ejects fighter jet after it crashes and catches fire

A heart-stopping video of a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot ejecting from his Harrier fighter jet after crashes and catches fire is goes viral.

Watch ARY News live on live.arynews.tv

Pilots usually eject from their jets several thousand metres in the air in case of an emergency, mechanical failure or in combat. In 2009, Flight Lieutenant Martin Pert did the impossible by ejecting from his aircraft following its crash landing in Afghanistan’s Kahandar province.

In the viral video, we can see sparks flying from the underside of a Harrier jet just when it touches the airstrip. Its nose gets loose and the burning plane skids forwards at high speed. The pilot’s parachute opened just a few metres above the ground the pilot suffered minor injuries.

According to the British news agency BBC, the pilot did not eject until he was able to change the direction of the plane to avoid crashing into other jets.

The viral video has millions of views on YouTube with hundreds of likes. They took to the comments section to react to the clip.

“He slammed so hard on the tarmac I’m amazed he managed to keep control.”
“I’m pretty sure it was a mechanical problem not pilot error and I think he stayed with it it under some kind of control right up to the point the cockpit was engulfed.”
“The Harrier looks really rugged, I expected that thing to flatten.”
“His jet insurance must have gone through the roof after this.”
“The plane may have taken damage, if so then the pilot was lucky to get it that far.”