History Main / DeadlyEscapeMechanism

* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Crackpot of the Empire", Sir Mortimer dies when he forces his way into the narrow lift that is the only way out of the factory. The killer has sabotaged the lift so that it [[EvilElevator plunges to the bottom of the shaft, taking Mortimer to his doom]]. The killer had bargained on Mortimer's FatalFlaw ensuring that he would be the first one into the escape route and shut everyone else out.

-->'''The Handler''', ''VideoGame/IExpectYouToDie 3''

* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}:'' If a vehicle in Alpha Complex comes equipped with an ejector seat, it's pretty much guaranteed to malfunction in some humorous and very likely fatal way.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}:'' If a vehicle in Alpha Complex comes equipped with an ejector seat, it's pretty much guaranteed not to work properly in some humorous and likely fatal way.

* In ''Film/TopGun'', Goose meets his end when he hits his head on the canopy while ejecting from an out-of-control Tomcat.

* ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'': When Bond steals the Aero L-39 Albatros from the illegal arms bazaar, he knocks out the co-pilot. Later, during the dogfight, the co-pilot re-awakes and tries to strangle Bond with a headphone cable. Struggling to keep the jet stable, Bond activates the ejector seat switch for the rear seat and sends the unfortunate co-pilot out of the plane, right into the fuselage of the enemy plane, causing it to explode.

* ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'': Moruth Doole, when cornered, uses an escape hatch to flee into the spice mines but is eaten by giant spiders in under two minutes.

** A nonfatal example appears in ''Starfighters of Adumar'' as part of Tomer Darpen's backstory. While a pilot trainee, Darpen became notorious for an incident in which he brought a Y-Wing in to a bumpy landing on a low gravity moon, only for his ejection seat to launch him into orbit ''after'' he managed to bring the craft to a halt.

[[folder:Live Action Television]]
* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Crackpot of the Empire", Sir Mortimer dies when he forces his way into the narrow lift that is the only way out of the factory. The killer has sabotaged the lift so it [[EvilElevator plunges to the bottom of the shaft; taking Mortimer to his doom]]. The killer had bargained on Mortimer's FatalFlaw ensuring he would be the first one into the escape route and shut everyone else out.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'': In "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonXIISkipper Skipper]]", Rimmer comes across an AlternateUniverse where the radiation leak hasn't quite happened yet. When it does, he comes across Captain Hollister, trying to escape on board an escape pod. Unfortunately, it manages to jam before it can leave, leaving Hollister to be blasted in the face by several tons of radiation.

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': As [=BattleMech=] interiors tend to be extremely hot places, most 'Mech pilots dress for comfort rather than survival post-ejection, making them rather ill-equipped to handle all but the most temperate of environments outside their cockpits. And that's before considering the utter hellscape that is the average 31st-century battlefield. Or the fact that ejecting from a toppling 'Mech has the propensity to send the pilot rocketing straight into the nearest solid object. Or the design "quirks" of certain 'Mechs which make a successful ejection from them nigh impossible...
** The VND-1R ''Vindicator'' medium 'mech is a classic example of the latter; the [[RangedEmergencyWeapon Medium Laser]] installed in the 'mech's head was notoriously bulky and would intrude upon space used by the pilot and the 'mech's ejection system, occasionally causing the laser to explode ([[YourHeadASplode alongside the 'mech's head]]) when the ejector was engaged.

* A downplayed example near the beginning of ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved''. The escape pod the Master Chief was on had a malfunction and was unable to land safely; when it crash-landed, the impact killed nearly everyone aboard: Everyone except the Master Chief himself.

* Goose's fate in ''Film/TopGun'' was by no means a Hollywood invention. Early F-14 Tomcat models were prone to having the ejected canopy linger over the aircraft under certain conditions, meaning the RIO, who would always eject first, would be in danger of striking it. Until the issue was corrected in later versions, crews were instructed to blow the canopy separately before ejecting, allowing additional time for it to separate from the aircraft.

** On [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_11 Soyuz 11]] a valve on the descent module intended to vent the cabin once it reached the lower atmosphere instead opened the instant the module detached from the rest of the spacecraft, exposing the three cosmonauts aboard to the vacuum of space. All 3 suffocated within moments.

* Records indicate that UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan provided a unique kind of armor to his front-line troops (who were often people from areas he conquered)--it was defended in the front, but had no protections in the back. As such, any attempt to retreat would meet with immediate death, because turning around and running would expose the body to enemies. The result was an army that never retreated; the soldiers had a better chance of living by standing and fighting rather than trying to flee.

** The VND-1R ''Vindicator'' medium 'mech is a classic example of the latter; the [[RangedEmergencyWeapon Small Laser]] installed in the 'mech's head had notoriously bad wiring and would often cross over with that of the 'mech's ejection system, causing the laser to explode ([[YourHeadASplode alongside the 'mech's head]]) when the ejector was engaged.

** The VND-1R ''Vindicator'' medium 'mech is a classic example of the latter; the [[RangedEmergencyWeapon Small Laser]] installed in the 'mech's head had notoriously bad wiring and would often cross over with that of the 'mech's ejection system, causing [[YourHeadASplode the 'mech's head to explode]] when the ejector was engaged and instantly frying the mechwarrior.

* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Crackpot of the Empire", Sir Mortimer dies when he forces his way into the narrow lift that is the only way out of the factory. The killer has sabotaged the lift so it [[EvilElevator plunges to the bottom of the shaft; taking mortimer to his doom]]. The killer had bargained on Mortimer's FatalFlaw ensuring he would be the first one into the escape route and shut everyone else out.

* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' has a scene where a fighter pilot ejects out of his jet... [[EatenAlive and into the jaws of Rodan]].

* As [[TabletopGame/BattleTech BattleMech]] interiors tend to be extremely hot places, most 'Mech pilots dress for comfort rather than survival post-ejection, making them rather ill-equipped to handle all but the most temperate of environments outside their cockpits. And that's before considering the utter hellscape that is the average 31st-century battlefield. Or the fact that ejecting from a toppling 'Mech has the propensity to send the pilot rocketing straight into the nearest solid object. Or the design "quirks" of certain 'Mechs which make a successful ejection from them nigh impossible...

* A downplayed example near the beginning of ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved''. The escape pod the Master Chief was on had a malfunction and was unable to land safely; when it crash-landed, the impact killed nearly everyone aboard: Everyone except the Master Chief himself.

[[EjectionSeat Ejection seats]], [[EscapePod escape pods]], and other means of emergency egress can be fickle things. No one wants to have to use them, of course. So it should come as no surprise that, just as they are intended as a last resort, they may be all too often last on the priority list for designers and maintenance crews. Maybe there was a limited budget and this was an area where corners were cut. Maybe planning for an emergency was simply considered bad luck. Maybe the system was even sabotaged by an unusually inventive killer. Whatever the reason, when someone ultimately needs to rely on these systems to get out of a vehicle or building in an emergency, they find their means of escape to be just as hazardous, if not more so, than whatever danger they were escaping. On an airplane, an ejection seat may rocket its passenger into danger, rather than out of it, or someone's parachute may fail to open. Aboard a ship, lifejackets may prove to be less than buoyant and drag would-be survivors to the bottom, or a lifeboat may begin sinking just as quickly as the ship that launched it... or both may be sucked straight into the ship's still churning propellers. On land, fire exits may be blocked, emergency stairs may collapse under the weight of victims, or emergency air sources may prove faulty. In any case, something meant to serve as a means of rescue ends up leading to the victim's death instead.

Subtrope of FailsafeFailure. Compare OutOfTheFryingPan and MortonsFork, for the dilemmas anyone caught in such a situation is facing. May involve a HopeSpot. In cases where enemies are deliberately targeting the escaping crew, see SinkTheLifeboats.

[[EjectionSeat Ejection seats]], [[EscapePod escape pods]], and other means of emergency egress can be fickle things. No one wants to have to use them, of course. So it should come as no surprise that, just as they are intended as a last resort, they may be all too often last on the priority list for designers and maintenance crews. Maybe there was a limited budget and this was an area where corners were cut. Maybe planning for an emergency was simply considered bad luck. Maybe the system was even sabotaged by an unusually inventive killer. Whatever the reason, when someone ultimately needs to rely on these systems to get out of a vehicle or building in an emergency, they find their means of escape to be just as hazardous, if not more so, than whatever danger they were escaping. On an airplane, an ejection seat may rocket its passenger into danger, rather than out of it, or someone's parachute may fail to open. Aboard a ship, lifejackets may prove to be less than buoyant and drag would be survivors to the bottom, or a lifeboat may begin sinking just as quickly as the ship that launched it... or both may be sucked straight into the ship's still churning propellers. On land, fire exits may be blocked, emergency stairs may collapse under the weight of victims, or emergency air sources may prove faulty. In any case, something meant to serve as a means of rescue ends up leading to the victim's death instead.

* In ''Film/TopGun'', Goose meets his end when he hits his head on the canopy while ejecting from an out of control Tomcat.

* ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'': Moruth Doole, when cornered, uses an escape hatch to flee into the spice mines, but is eaten by giant spiders in under two minutes.

* As [[TabletopGame/BattleTech BattleMech]] interiors tend to be extremely hot places, most 'Mech pilots dress for comfort rather than survival post-ejection, making them rather ill-equipped to handle all but the most temperate of environments outside their cockpits. And that's before considering the utter hellscape that is the average 31st century battlefield. Or the fact that ejecting from a toppling 'Mech has the propensity to send the pilot rocketing straight into the nearest solid object. Or the design "quirks" of certain 'Mechs which make a successful ejection from them nigh impossible...

** a number of employees attempted to use the exterior fire escape, only for it to tear away from the building and collapse under their weight. Around 20 victims fell to their deaths.

** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_1 Soyuz 1]] was a rushed mission of an equally rushed and untested spacecraft which numerous parts of the ship failed, which culminated in the descent module impacting the ground at terminal velocity after its parachutes failed to deploy. Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was said to have spent his last moments cursing the spacecraft designers.

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

* In ''Literature/DebtOfHonor'', veteran sonarman Jones derisively refers to submarine escape trunks[[note]]airlock-like chambers that allow crewmembers to escape a submarine while underwater[[/note]] as "the mom's hatch" - something young sailors could show their parents to alleviate their fears, but which would be all but useless in a real emergency.

* One grisly but likely apocryphal tale tells of an early prototype of either an ejection seat or explosive emergency canopy release. The handle to operate the system was reportedly so hard to move - and consequently required such a tight grip - that the force of ejection would supposedly rip the hapless pilot's hand off.

* Early ejection seats in general were designed specifically to facilitate escape from an aircraft at high speeds and altitudes. Trying to eject at low altitude - during takeoff or landing for example, when most accidents occur - would extend a pilot's life only a few seconds longer than attempting to bail out manually. Only the advent of "Zero Zero" ejection seats, designed to launch pilots high enough for their parachutes to deploy even if the plane is inches from the ground at zero airspeed, would make them a viable means of escape in all situations.

* Prior to the invention of ejection seats, simply bailing out using a parachute was a dubious prospect at low altitudes, as the parachute canopy may not have had time to fully deploy before impact. Additionally, crews had to be wary of hitting parts of the aircraft behind the cockpit - the tail surfaces in particular - when bailing out. Many pilots would attempt to roll their planes upside down specifically so gravity would help them drop clear of the tail.

* While not strictly an emergency system, the descent module of early versions of the Soyuz - the part of the spacecraft [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin meant to return cosmonauts safely to the ground]] - suffered a pair of deadly accidents due to design flaws: