Welcome to the Ejected Pilots' Club!
It's a reunion nobody wants to miss. The latest Ejected Pilots' get-together took place in Paris, at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, during the Paris Air Show. It was hosted by Safran Martin Baker France (a 50-50 joint venture between Safran and English company Martin Baker Aircraft) to celebrate the fighter-jet pilots who have ejected—and the seats that saved their life.
It's a club in a class by itself. It was in 1957 that Sir James Martin—who also founded Martin Baker, the company that manufacturers ejecting seats—started the Ejection Tie Club to gather the fighter-jet pilots who had survived thanks to their seat.
The tradition lives on, almost 70 years later: Safran Martin Baker France (SMBF) organizes an ejectee cocktail in Paris every other year, during the Paris Air Show. They all wear a tie sporting the distinctive red downward-pointing triangle, and the venue this year was the French national library's eminent Richelieu building.
United by a unique experience
Martin Baker seats have ejected 7,789 times so far. Safran Martin Baker France, specifically, has saved 730 lives with its seats—and counting. The evening is an opportunity to gather the pilots who have lived through the extraordinary experience and to shine a light on the work of Safran Martin Baker France's employees.
A second life begins
What goes through a pilot's mind the instant they eject? How do they react? What is the aftermath like? Max Moutoussamy, a retired fighter-jet pilot, speaks about the life-changing moment.
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