Eject! Eject! Eject!
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A pilot of a Russian Su-25 Frogfoot close air support jet recorded his own ejection in dramatic headcam footage. The aircraft was supposedly brought down by Ukrainian fire this summer. The video originated from the Russian Fighter-Bomber Telegram channel.
The Frogfoot pilot was flying just hundreds of feet off the deck when the aircraft was supposedly hit. In the video, the jet pitches up violently as it departs from controlled flight and the ejection sequence is activated. As the pilot rockets away from the aircraft in its Zvezda K-36 ejection seat, we get a glimpse of its tail. Its vertical stabilizer is nearly gone, its horizontal stabilizer is damaged, and its engine is on fire. You can also see the aircraft's canopy falling away.
Before the pilot touches down under-parachute, the Su-25 is seen exploding in a field in the distance. Once on the ground, what was an incredibly violent instant in time transitions to an odd, almost peaceful calm under a beautiful blue sky. You can hear a jet somewhere nearby, likely his wingman which can be briefly seen in the video, and a billowing smoke column is visible in the distance where the Su-25 augered in. The entire clip looks like something out of a video game, but it's not.
