Day 249: Drugged Bears Used To Test Ejector Seats

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2251548/Drugged-strapped-ejector-seat-BEARS-used-fighter-jet-test-pilots-Cold-War.html

Live bears were used by the American military to test the safety of the pilot ejection capsule on the world's first supersonic jet bomber, it has emerged.

The B-58 Hustler was created in the 1950s during the height of the cold war.

It was faster than the U.S.S.R jets at the time and was the first ever bomber capable of Mach 2 - the term given to planes flying at twice the speed of sound.

But the plane had several issues - including that the crew could not use the emergency ejection system when the plane was flying at Mach 2.

A new ejection was designed so crew could evacuate at any time but the U.S. Air Force wanted to test the safety of the aircraft's ejection system before letting its elite pilots try it out.

A pre-ejection handle yanked the pilot's legs in close before enclosing him in a shell that still allowed rudimentary control of the plane, i09.com reports.

The actual ejection handle then sent the capsule up with a rocket burst and automatically deployed a parachute. The capsule could float and contained survival supplies in the event of a crash.

Live Himalayan and American black bears were sedated and then sent up in the four jet engine aircraft to test the new ejection system. The bears were ejected at various altitudes and speeds in a various conditions to check its safety.

Upon landing, the bears were checked over for any injuries. Some did suffer broken bones, internal injuries and bruising but no bears died in the test flight ejections. 

The ejection tests, which saw bears ejected at speeds up to Mach 1.6 at 45,000 feet, and medical checks after the flights can be seen in an Air Force video.

But i09 reports that a white paper by the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council, called Impact Acceleration Stress, states that the bears were euthanised and underwent an autopsy afterwards. - Daily Mail


How little we value a life - it is only our personal feelings toward something that lead us to establishing the "worth" of that something (or someone). The things and beings that we do not care about personally will not be given a high value. We obviously do not even consider then that the beings and objects in the world are independent, aware, alive and feeling just like us, because if we did then we would treat them only as we would like to be treated, were we in their position. 

Why else would we knowingly place animals in positions of slavery and abuse? We obviously do not consider them as being our equal, never mind as being important. Would we strap our own children into these ejection capsules to subject them to injuries and then euthanasia? I highly doubt it. What is the difference, really, between any 2 beings? There is only that difference which we impose - our personal opinions hold sway.