January 14, 2014 - Back on November 8, 2011 Lt
Sean Cunningham a pilot with the Red Arrows, the
Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team based at RAF
Scampton, England was killed when he was ejected
from his single-engine BAE Hawk T1 advanced jet
trainer aircraft while he was performing a
cockpit preflight check while on the ground at
an at RAF airfield Scampton.
Cunningham was ejected from his aircraft through
a smoke filled canopy 300 feet into the air
while still seatbelted to his pilot seat.
Cunningham’s parachute failed to open resulting
in fatal injuries when he hit the ground.
Near by ground crew had to duck for cover when
the canopy blew open as Perspex (a transparent
thermoplastic, often used as a lightweight or
shatter-resistant alternative to glass)
shattered across the ground.
Early speculations suggested Cunningham failed
to deploy his parachute when he was ejected from
his aircraft as a result from taking a flu
medication the night before the flight called
Night Nurse which some believed the side effects
affected his judgment.
Night Nurse is a popular cold and flu medication
in the UK. Night Nurse contains three main
ingredients which work together to relieve cold
and flu type symptoms which allow a sick person
get a restful night sleep.
- Paracetamol is a pain killer
- Promethazine is an antihistamine which works
by blocking the effects of histamine and
suppresses the urge to cough, and also dries
secretions in the nose. It causes drowsiness
which is helpful for night time coughs.
- Dextromethorphan suppresses the urge to cough
and relieves dry, tickly coughs.
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