If you’re reading this blog then there is no doubt that you know the being a fighter pilot is one of the most exciting careers on earth, and I recently came across a story of  a fighter pilot in Kenya that embodies the spirit of the job, and the men and women who do it!

Having served both for the Kenyan and US Air Force in his 25 year career the 47 year old Kenyan flight school instructor Lt-Col. John Kiili is the only fighter pilot in Kenyan history have both ejected and bailed from flights due to emergencies, with the incidences occurring 10 years apart almost to the day!

The first occurred in 1994 when conducting a frame test of a Hawk Jet in Kenya. Kiili had done many test like this before, and all seemed to be going well when suddenly he encountered disaster when pulling the plane through its last set of maneuvers.

During a nose-dive the plane hit a flock of birds, and there was considerable damage to both the wings and the glass canopy of the cockpit. With seconds to decide what to do he attempted to make a safe landing of the plane, but with almost 30 miles to base when the engine gave out he had no choice but to eject.

He was thankful rescued by a British helicopter crew who had seen the whole accident take place and only received minor injuries.

The second jump Kiili had to make occurred in his capacity as a flight instructor with the Kenyan Air Force, and this time he had a student to worry about as well as himself. After the usual briefing and pre-flight inspection Kiili and his student entered a Bulldog jet and went up for a series of spinning exercises.

After several successful drills, there was panic when the plane wouldn’t come out of a spin. After taking over control of the plane himself, Kiili concluded within seconds that the Bulldog had gone into a flat spin, and that the controls were not responding. This time he and his student had to bail.

Bailing differs from ejecting in that the pilot has to manually open the cockpit, climb on to the wings of the plane and jump, deploying their own shoot; a terrifying experience. God was definitely on Kiili side again that day, as both he and his student made safe landings and received few injuries.

I count myself lucky that I have never had to face the kind of terrifying split second decision making that Lt. Col. Kiili had to, but I really thought that this was a great example of the spirit that fighter pilots embody, and the absolute importance that split second decision making and confidence has in making a great fighter pilot!