ejection seat

noun

|Updated on: 4 Jul 2018

Definition of ejection seat

: an emergency escape seat for propelling an occupant out and away from an airplane

See ejection seat defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of ejection seat from the Web

During the safety investigation process following an emergency landing of a B-1B in Midland, Texas, an issue with ejection seat components was discovered that necessitated the stand-down.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Air Force Grounds B-1s Over Ejection Seat Issue," 8 June 2018
That includes the detection and control systems, the rocket motor (similar to those used in military aircraft ejection seats), the solid fuel supply, and the dense mass that provides the kinetic energy that turns a hit into a kill.

— eric adams, WIRED, "Lockheed's Drone-Sploding Baby Missile Weighs Just 5 Pounds," 5 May 2018
Others get one for being fired out of a plane via a Martin-Baker ejection seat.

— Fortune, "Only Pilots Who’ve Cheated Death Could Buy This Watch — Until Now," 25 Apr. 2018
Columbia was equipped with ejection seats for its initial test flights, but escaping from an out-of-control shuttle was problematic at best.

— william harwood, CBS News, "John Young, legendary moonwalker and shuttle commander, dead at 87," 6 Jan. 2018
Bernthal had just one option: Reach for the bright yellow-and-black handle of the Martin-Baker ejection seat before the jet would be torn apart in the forest that lay ahead ahead.

— Fortune, "Only Pilots Who’ve Cheated Death Could Buy This Watch — Until Now," 25 Apr. 2018
But his main claim to fame was as the fearless test subject for their signature invention: the ejection seat.

— smithsonianmag.com, "Footage of the First Martin-Baker Ejection Seat Test," 12 Dec. 2017
Today, ejection seats have about a greater than 90 percent success rate.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "Since First Successfully Used 75 Years Ago, Ejection Seats Have Saved Thousands," 13 Jan. 2017
In addition to the F414 engine, NASA will repurpose the rear cockpit of a T-38 to serve as the supersonic X-plane's cockpit, including canopy and ejection seat.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "NASA Prepares to Select Contractor to Build Low-Boom Supersonic X-Plane," 23 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ejection seat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.