He did not feel the need — the need for speed.
A 64-year-old man inadvertently ejected from a fighter plane during a terrifying joyride his colleagues thought he’d enjoy, according to CNN.
The unidentified evacuator never expressed interest in flying in a supersonic jet and had no military experience, but the report said his co-workers erroneously figured he might like rushing through the clouds in a Dassault Rafale B aircraft, which reaches speeds of nearly 900 miles an hour.
With the jet already at 2,500 feet above Earth, its pilot continued to elevate, further frightening the older passenger. The fear factor reached its apex when the sexagenarian reached for something to hold onto, unwittingly activated his ejector seat and was launched out of the jet and into the clear blue sky.
The unsuspecting Frenchman’s ill-adjusted helmet flew from his head as the terrified homme soared even higher before a parachute was activated, bringing him safely back to earth in a field near the German border.
He was taken to a hospital for evaluation. The pilot suffered minor facial injuries reportedly caused by his passenger’s ejection.
A setting on the nervous passenger’s wristwatch reportedly indicated his heart was racing when he first reached the airfield, but he decided to be a sport and go through with the seemingly safe adventure. The Register reports that the flight was a retirement present for the pensioner, who was employed by a defense contractor.
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