[trux]

Incredible story! I think he was lucky that he touched the ground by the rear part first - the first impact shock was probably at least partially absorbed by the seat construction (so he probably did not get the full 73G), and only then he was ejected forward. He would certainly not survive if he touched nose first. Anyway, it is incredible what a human can survive.

This brings me also to the question if/why the military jets do not have airbags. I know some commercial jets do have them installed on certain seats. It would certainly help to limit the face injury in this case, as well as at many landing accidents.