… But when the airplane you’re flying is loaded with chemicals and fuel and headed at a very low altitude directly at a hillside, apparently one’s brain might concoct that jumping out is a reasonable option. Reports from South Africa say that ag-pilot Johan Foley found himself facing that particular set of circumstances when the crop-dusting aircraft he was flying began having engine trouble. Foley’s mental computations of the situation apparently led to his decision to depart the aircraft when it was barely above the ground and just before it crashed.
So, here’s the report card: The aircraft struck the hillside and exploded; Foley, age 29, ended up in the hospital “slightly injured” with “a neck injury,” according to Independent Online. AVweb was unable to verify the specific model of aircraft involved. Don’t try this at home.
