News Release

Cause of CF-18 Pilot's Death Released

NR 03/005 - June 11, 2003

OTTAWA -- Air Force Flight Safety Investigators have released preliminary findings into the cause of death of the pilot involved in the May 26 crash of a CF-18 in Cold Lake, Alberta.

The team has so far determined that a combination of high speed, low altitude, escape system design and adverse motion of the aircraft at the time of ejection, exerted forces on Captain Kevin Naismith's body that caused a fatal trauma.

"An unfortunate combination of factors caused this pilot's death," said the Flight Safety Investigator in Charge, Major Jim Armour. "We've never seen an ejection in the CF-18 under conditions as challenging as these." At the time of his ejection, Captain Naismith's aircraft was out of control, at high speed and at a relatively low altitude, all factors that significantly increase the degree of risk to a pilot during an ejection.

The CF-18's ejection system has been in use since the aircraft's introduction into service in 1982. There have been a total of nine ejections from the CF-18 over its 21 years in service and all eight previous ejections were successful, with a limited number of minor injuries. The parachute harness used in the CF-18 maintains a good track record in similarly-equipped fighters in use by nations such as Britain, Spain, Australia, France, Israel, Switzerland and Finland.

"As Commander of the Air Force, I have full confidence in the CF-18 and its ejection system and, based on feedback I've received from our operational squadrons, so do the majority of our pilots," said LGen Lloyd Campbell, Chief of the Air Staff in Ottawa. "That said, we'll be doing everything we can to determine whether there are measures we can take to mitigate risks for our pilots and, if there are, we'll take them."

To date, a number of short-term measures have already been undertaken. "We've had our squadrons review strap-in procedures and also stressed to our pilots the importance of doing everything they can to decrease ejection risks by gaining altitude, reducing speed and doing everything possible to ensure proper body position before ejection," said MGen Marc Dumais, Commander of 1 Canadian Air Division. "That said, risk always exists, particularly in out of control situations."

The Air Force is currently conducting a complete analysis of the ejection seat and harness combination to determine what occurred in this ejection and whether any technical enhancements could be made to the CF-18's escape system. This effort will aim, in particular, at determining whether risks can be further reduced and the system enhanced for ejections under adverse conditions of flight.

There has been no determination as to the exact cause of the CF-18 crash on May 26. The investigation is ongoing.