Conversation:

An excellent article. My Dad was a Vulcan AEO, who fortunately was never put into the position of baling out, but he lost several friends in accidents.
As a child I never asked what would happen to him there was an accident, probably because it never occurred to me that things could go wrong. As an adult, I now realise there was a lot we didn't hear about.
The attitude of the Governments involved in the whole sordid saga shows that some things will never change. Even now service personnel have issues with protective equipment.
Mr Martin and his safety work were important, and yet he was ignored in this case.
Great article Deke. Really informative.
Incidentally, it's my Dad's 70th birthday soon. I'll try and send him a link to your article, I think he'll find it very interesting.