A photo of the 64-year-old passenger prior to takeoff. His identity was obscured in the French government report.

The 64-year-old manager at a French defense manufacturer had no experience flying in a fighter jet, nor had he ever expressed any desire to do so.



But when his colleagues surprised him with the gift of being a passenger in a military jet flight, he felt he couldn't say no. They had obtained special ministerial approval. He didn't want to be rude.

But he was terrified.

The gift was sprung on him that very morning. He had just hours to mentally prepare himself.

A doctor performed a medical examination, which should have taken place 10 days before, just four hours before takeoff.

The man listened, stressed and confused, during a safety briefing when he was informed on how his ejector seat worked.

His heart was racing as he entered the cockpit. His smartwatch recorded it beating 136–142 times a minute.

He was so nervous he didn't properly check his safety equipment.

And then soon enough, they were taking off, piloted by a French veteran military pilot with more than 2,000 hours of flight time experience.



As the pilot leveled off and the plane was subjected to a negative gravitational load factor, which can create the feeling of being upside down, the passenger reached for something to hold onto, but inadvertently grabbed the ejector handle.

He was, of course, flung into the air.



Somehow, he survived.