The Darkest Air Force Secret They Tried to Bury Forever

Video Description

On May 1, 2018, a B-1B Lancer flying 20,000 feet over Texas suffered a sudden and severe engine fire. Inside, its four crew members ran through the emergency checklist, shutting down systems and deploying fire suppression, but nothing worked. The fire kept burning. As the flames crept dangerously close to the fuel lines, there was only one thing left to do: eject. But as one crewman pulled the handle, though the hatch exploded free and a wall of night air tore through the cockpit, the seat stayed locked in place. Ejection seats in the B-1B are timed to fire in sequence, one after another, just milliseconds apart, to prevent collisions mid-air. If one seat malfunctions, it throws off the entire chain. Another might fire too early. Two could launch at once. One crew member could be ejected directly into another. A system built to save them had just turned against them. Further investigations into other Air Force ejection seat systems would uncover a dark and disturbing secret… --- Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between. As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.