History Main / EjectionSeat

* On shooting an airman after he or she's ejected or otherwise left a stricken aircraft being a war crime. This was generally respected in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII by all sides, even (most of the time) on the Eastern Front. But Polish pilots in the Royal Air Force had to be frequently brought to book for seeking to kill German aircrew who had bailed out - they generally loathed the Germans so much that they considered the fight was not over till the pilot was dead. Some British pilots justified shooting at a bailed-out Luftwaffe pilot with the simple cold calculation that the Germans could quickly replace an aircraft - it took time, money and experience to make a good pilot, and to make sure he was dead would ''really'' harm the German war effort, especially if he bailed out where his own side could recover him. This attitude was rare, however, and besides, it is difficult and expends too much ammo to make sure of getting a man hanging under a parachute.

* ''[[Series/WonderWoman1975 Wonder Woman]]'': In "Going, Going, Gone", [[BigBad Sheldon Como]] tricks a Russian pilot with an illusory UFO. The pilot jettisons his cargo and uses his ejection seat.

* Some tau Battlesuits in Warhammer 40k has an option for this.
* A common feature in R&D vehicles in ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}''. Some of the many ways this can [[GoneHorriblyWrong go horribly wrong]]:
** The eject button is marked as "Bouncy Bubble Beverage Dispenser" or something along those lines.
** The presence of an ejector seat was not considered when armour plating was added. (See also, head trauma.)
** The seatbelt, if you used it at all, was poorly designed and disconnects as soon as the seat ejects.
** And many, many more.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Critical Mass|1995}}'', if you don't eject before your ship is destroyed, you have {{Permadeath}}. This is true of most flight-simulation games, unless there ''is'' no ejection option.
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer:''
** ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals'': American vehicles with one or more levels of veterancy will eject the pilot/driver if it's destroyed. Putting the pilot into another vehicle ([[UniversalDriversLicence any vehicle, mind, including Chinese and GLA ones]]) adds his veteran level to it.
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'', where Apollo pilots can be heard yelling "Where's the eject!?!" as they burn up and crash.
* In ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'', playing on [[FinalDeathMode "Strict Play"]] mode makes buying an escape pod a wise move. There's an auto-eject option which automatically launches it if your ship is breaking up.
* Featured prominently in the ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' series. Ejecting means that you just failed every remaining objective (because your wingman [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou Can't Go On Without You]]), but it can occasionally be a wise move, especially if you don't like SaveScumming. Ejection in many missions, however, was still a loss. And one Kilrathi ace in particular was known for shooting up ejected pilots. In the cartoon ''WesternAnimation/WingCommanderAcademy'', the ejection was via an enclosed pod, not just one's seat.
* ''VideoGame/SteelBattalion'' would [[DeaderThanDead delete your save]] if you didn't use the molly-guarded BigRedButton on the insanely expensive custom controller to bail out of your HumongousMecha.
* The ''VideoGame/MechCommander'' series had ejection as part of the gameplay. Your Mechwarriors would typically successfully eject (with some injury, which was another gameplay mechanic) should their 'Mechs be disabled by anything but destruction of the head. Understandably (as the head contains the cockpit), destruction of the cockpit results in the death of the Mechwarrior. In either case, death of your Mechwarrior would result in him being removed from your roster permanently; a fairly big issue, as Mechwarriors get better with experience and recruited Mechwarriors cost credits and are typically worse than the ones you currently have.
* The ''Videogame/MechWarrior'' series has escape pods built into the cockpits of their [[HumongousMecha BattleMechs]] that gave pilots a chance to survive a losing fight. In some games, they are seemingly powerful enough to get back to orbit under their own power, which is a good bit beyond the normal capabilities of ejection seats in the board game. Traditionally, the "Eject" button is [[PressXToDie basically a "Suicide" button]] for when a player gets stuck or crippled in the middle of nowhere, but ''Mechwarrior Living Legends'' allows players to bail out (in a [[MetaMecha full suit]] of [[PoweredArmor Battlarmor]]) and continue fighting on foot, though with much weaker weapons (just an anti-infantry {{gatling g|ood}}un) than dedicated Battlearmor players. In ''Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries'', ejecting allows you to continue on the campaign at the cost of losing your mech and failing to complete the mission you're currently on, potentially leading to a NonStandardGameOver if you're out of replacement mechs and don't have enough money to buy a new one.
* In ''VideoGame/OperationFlashpoint'' pilots routinely bail out from their badly damaged helicopters. It's not ejection in the usual sense of the word, they simply jump out and pull their chutes, but it's still absurd, since they usually go through the still-turning rotors and yet ''remain unharmed''.
* One of the devices you can equip on your vehicle in ''[[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts]]''.

* Ejection seats play a role in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' games from time to time, usually to explain how someone survived getting a mech shot down. ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX'' is notable in that it invokes this trope to neatly sidestep the [[ChildrenForcedToKill implications]] of having [[Anime/MashinHeroWataruSeries a grade-schooler]] mow down human pilots instead of the cuddly robot soldiers from his home series.
* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsRebelAssault II'', Rookie One ejects from his B-Wing after being shot down by a V-38 [[InvisibilityCloak Phantom]] TIE Fighter.
* Used as a continue mechanic for the ''VideoGame/XWing'' and ''VideoGame/TieFighter'' series. If near friendly forces when shot down, your pilot can eject and be recovered. If the primary objectives were completed, it would even count as a victory (albeit with a sharp penalty to the final score for losing your fighter). However, ejecting near enemy forces would cause your pilot to be [[FateWorseThanDeath captured and interrogated]], and the ejection seat system could be damaged, causing your character's actual death instead of ejection.
* {{Veteran|Unit}} pilots in the USA faction of ''Videogame/CommandAndConquerGenerals'' automatically bail out when shot down. They can then be assigned permanently to ground vehicles (or parked jets, or helicopters that have landed to repair), upgrading them to the Veteran status earned by the first aircraft.
* ''VideoGame/SpyFox in Dry Cereal'' uses this trope for the last puzzle. Comically, it's activated by a toaster.
** Subverted earlier in the game where Fox steals a truck to chase after the big bad. He sees an "eject" button on the truck's dash and assumes it's for an ejection seat, it was actually just for the cassette deck.
* A rather obscure Sega Mega Drive game called ''[=MiG=]-29 Fighter Pilot'' has an Eject Function. Ejecting before your plane crashes lets you continue the mission as is, but not ejecting will boot you back to the first mission. Amusingly you cannot simply eject without any need or you will be disciplined. This is because you can actually eject at any time, even while your plane is ready for take off, that is to say, seconds after starting a mission.
* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', the P-996 Lazer fighter jet features one, letting you escape easily if you get shot up. However, if you manage to somehow wreck it, but still get to the ground mostly in one piece, the seat likes to fire you backwards into the ground to hurt you. In addition to that, one of the cars Franklin has to steal in one of the missions is a spy car from a movie studio that comes equipped with an ejectable passenger seat. The actress who Franklin accidentally kidnapped found this out the hard way when Franklin pressed the button, not knowing what it would do.

* ''VideoGame/TitanFall's'' titular MiniMecha come equipped with these. Triggering it takes a little bit of ButtonMashing, and if you fail to activate it in time then you either die when your Titan explodes or when an enemy Titan performs an execution (ripping you out of the cockpit). One of the equippable abilities makes your ejection seat trigger automatically, while also giving you a temporary InvisibilityCloak when it does.
** Another popular option is the [[TakingYouWithMe Nuclear Ejection]].
** Players are also actively encouraged to fire upon ejecting pilots: one in game challenge explicitly tracks how many pilots you've killed this way.
* D.Va uses one of these to escape from her MiniMecha in ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', whether she set it to self-destruct of the enemy trashed it. D.Va herself is still a completely valid target, as she can keep shooting while on foot and can summon herself a new MEKA if she survives long enough.

* ''VideoGame/SabreAceConflictOverKorea'' puts ejector seats on all the jet planes. Prop-driven planes just have the pilot jump out of the cockpit.
* Harebrained Schemes' ''VideoGame/{{Battletech}}'' features ejection seats in all 'mechs (including in the SDR-5V Spider, [[ArmoredCoffins which canonically lacks one]]). Unlike in the tabletop game, however, the ejection seats are manual only, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation with the exception of two story mode characters who auto-eject when their 'mechs are blown up]]. Pressing the button [[YourHeadASplode detonates the 'mech's head]] and ejects the pilot, removing both 'mech and [=MechWarrior=] from the mission. While expensive to fix, it is usually less expensive than losing a valued [=MechWarrior=] or permanently ruining a valuable 'mech's equipment by having its other limbs blown off.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Liquid Snake]] wound up in Alaska after accidentally ejecting himself from a helicopter in ''WebComic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound''. He then guesses that he must be in the North Pole, and wonders where the [[PolarBearsAndPenguins penguins]] are.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmokeyBearShow'' had one character installing an ejector seat in another character's newly acquired sports car.

* When [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Wile E. Coyote]] builds a WeaponizedCar to catch the Road Runner in "Sugar and Spies", it includes an ejection seat. You can probably guess how useful this proves to him.

->'''Q:''' Now this I'm particularly keen about of. You see the gear-lever here? Now if you take the top off, you'll find a little red button. Whatever you do, don't touch it.\\

* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', the "entry plugs" that the EVA pilots rode in could be ejected in case of emergency. They [[FailsafeFailure didn't always work]].

* While most Variable Fighters in the earlier ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' series have standard ejection seats, the VF-25 ''Messiah'' from ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'' is the first major model where the pilots instead wear exoskeletons[=/=]mini-mecha (called EX-Gear) that dock with the cockpit. The pilot can then eject and fly away, even in outer space, using their own self-propelled EX-Gear, which has its own wings, thrusters, and limbs.
* Shin is forced to eject at least once in ''Manga/{{Area 88}}.'' One OVA character takes a sadistic glee in shooting down other pilots after they eject.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'': Italy and Poland both of them used it in different moments. Sadly, they got stuck in a tree immediately after.

* ''ComicBook/{{Archie|Comics}}'':
** In one comic, Jughead as Captain Hero faces a courteous villain who left his own car via ejection seat, while the car is in motion.
** In another comic, Mr. Weatherbee decides to take a break in the shop class, where the students have been constructing pieces of an airplane. We next see Jughead reporting that 'The Bee' has hit the ceiling, and because he sat on an ejector seat, that was NotHyperbole.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueVSTeenTitans'', Robin hijacks the Batwing and pilots it towards the Trigon-possessed Weather Wizard, using the ejector seat to escape before it crashes.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanSoulOfTheDragon''. Lady Shiva uses the ejection seat in Bruce Wayne's WeaponizedCar (not the Batmobile, but a disguised civilian car) to blast herself onto an overpass that the villains are using to escape. Without bothering to ask for Batman's approval first.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicRoundabout2005'', Dylan inadvertently uses the ejector seat on Brian while wondering if one of the buttons in Train's control panel would slow Zeebad down who is giving chase in the driller train.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* During the test of the [[CoolCar Jet Car]], [[Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossThe8thDimension Buckaroo Banzai]] gets someone LockedOutOfTheLoop over his radio going "Eject, Buckaroo! Eject!" but Buckaroo refuses and goes on to go through the mountain and into the Eighth Dimension.

* In ''Film/{{Stealth}}'', the {{Love Interest|s}} pilot is forced to eject in enemy territory. There's a long scene where she tries to out-fall the debris from her recently destroyed aircraft. When she finally ''does'' deploy her chute, the debris slices through it, lights it on fire, and burns it away just a few meters from the trees. [[spoiler: She survives with just a few scratches though. Of course, that now means she's on the ground in North Korea. Not a good place for an American.]]
* Film/JamesBond:

* ''Film/TopGun'' shows that [[DeadlyEscapeMechanism ejecting doesn't always help]], as Goose smacks into the canopy and fatally breaks his neck. This was a real risk at one time; now the ejection seat in many fighters is designed with a mechanism to shatter the glass before the pilot could hit it in the case that the canopy is not out of the way already.[[note]]This is a critical component for ejection systems in aircraft that fly slowly or can hover. If the plane is not moving forward, the canopy separation charge does not have the power to throw the canopy clear of the seat's ejection line. The canopy of a Harrier VTOL aircraft has a very visible "squiggle" line on it; this is an explosive strip charge that shatters the canopy before the seat fires, and the seat itself extends above the pilot's head line so that the seat - not the pilot's head - will hit the canopy. While dangerous and potentially deafening, it is nevertheless substantially less dangerous than hitting the canopy.[[/note]] Additionally, the F-14's canopy had a tendency to get sucked into a low-pressure zone directly above the cockpit during ejection.
* ''Film/TheCannonballRun'' features the Aston Martin DB V from ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', complete with ejector seat, driven by Creator/RogerMoore playing a [[Film/JamesBond man who thinks that he is Roger Moore]]. The seat malfunctions and Moore ends up ejecting himself.
* In ''Film/BigGame'', Oskari and Moore eject themselves from Air Force One cockpit to escape the explosion that's just about to blow submerged Air Force One to bits.
* ''Film/SpaceMutiny''. the Viper fighter craft, like the one our hero David Ryder flew in, is equipped with a "High-Density Deatomizer Escape System", which only works in short distances. When David's ship malfunctions thanks to Kalgan's sabotage, only David escapes, leaving his poor passenger to die in the crash. As David explains, it's only installed in the cockpit and it was the only thing ''working''.

* The [[CoolCar Batmobile]] in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' has an unconventional ejector seat which converts into a kickass Bike from hell. Also, in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Batman [[spoiler:manages to eject from his Batpod and control it remotely allowing him to fly it to a safe distance and fake his own death]].
* ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague''. Batman ejects when the Batmobile is blown up by Parademons, who immediately swarm the ejection seat in mid-air only to find that Batman has escaped from ''that'' using his GrapplingHookPistol.
* ''Film/AustinPowersInGoldmember''. Used in the ShowWithinAShow ''Austinpussy''. An InUniverse Creator/TomCruise playing Austin ejects from his Shaguar just before it's blown up by a helicopter gunship, using this trope to do a LeapAndFire over the rotor blades while firing mini-Uzis GunsAkimbo. Yeah, baby!

* ''Film/DeathRace'' has an ejector seat in the hero's car. The eject was never for the driver, just the female navigator (it's suggested that [[MenAreTheExpendableGender too many women getting killed is bad for ratings]]). An ejector seat is [[ImprovisedWeapon improvised into a mortar]] to take out a pursuing car, and later having worked out that the navigator has sabotaged his vehicle, Jensen Ames forces a confession by driving under a low-roofed warehouse and threatening to eject her if she doesn't talk.

* ''Film/TwoFastTwoFurious'' features a pair of improvised ejection seats in two cars powered by partially spent [=N2O=] cylinders usually used for NitroBoost. [[spoiler:Played with when Brian delays hitting the button because he needs the mook in the seat for a little longer, and again when he presses the button and it doesn't work, opening the way for Roman's BigDamnHeroes moment.]] By the way this isn't how N20 works.
* Parodied in ''Film/HotShots'', where a character successfully ejects... right into another plane. His head is stuck in another pilot's cockpit for a good long while, his arms and legs flailing around uselessly as he begs said pilot "Don't land!"
* In ''Film/ChittyChittyBangBang'', when Baron Bomburst commands Grandpa to make the eponymous car fly, Grandpa presses a button at random that sends the Baroness shooting skyward out of her seat (she is saved by her ParachutePetticoat).
* ''Film/FlightOfTheIntruder'' has several. They also work in an opportunity for ExactWords.
-->"This is the end of Devil 505, say goodbye asshole! Eject eject eject!"
-->"Goodbye asshole!" *ejection seats fire*

* The original ''Film/BehindEnemyLines'' film shows an ejection sequence in quite a bit of detail: once the handle is pulled, straps pull the pilot and [=RIO's=] legs tight against their seats (to avoid anything getting caught on anything), charges go off, igniting the rockets, and when their parachutes pop, the chairs themselves fall away, broadcasting a distress signal back to home base. The pilot is seriously injured from the ejection and the landing, and the RIO is suitably exhausted and has minor injuries himself, even though they were flying at relatively slow speeds[[note]]Despite trying to dodge a missile, they weren't flying very fast: they were trying to outmaneuver it, and the aerial acrobatics required relatively low speed to limit G force[[/note]].
* In ''Film/DieHard2'', John [=McClane=] is cornered in the cockpit of a cargo plane by terrorists who start tossing in grenades (with absurdly long fuses). Acting quickly, he straps himself into the pilot's seat and activates the ejector seat. It should be noted cargo planes generally don't have ejector seats.
* The Creator/{{HBO}} movie ''By Dawn's Early Light'' (1990). During WorldWarIII a B-52 crewman goes insane and activates his ejection seat, [[ContinuousDecompression blowing everyone]] but the two pilots out of the aircraft.
* ''Film/Oblivion2013''. The entire bubble cockpit on the FutureCopter ejects and deploys a parachute after an AttackDrone kamikazes into it.
* ''Film/BattleBeyondTheStars''. Sador has to lower the forcefield on his MileLongShip to fire his [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Stellar Converter]], so [[BloodKnight Saint-Exmin]] stops this by crashing her spaceship into it while ejecting in an EscapePod which is immediately surrounded by three enemy fighters. She's tells the others ItHasBeenAnHonor and destructs the pod, [[TakingYouWithMe taking the fighters with her]]. When Shad and Nanelia are facing capture, they tell their SapientShip Nell to activate the SelfDestructMechanism, but she insists on ejecting them first in her own escape projectile. Fortunately there aren't any fighters left, so they're the {{Sole Survivor}}s of the eponymous battle.
* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' uses this for a short bit of dark comedy. A bunch of fighter jets attempt to take down the GiantFlyer {{Kaiju}} Rodan, and they don't have much success. One pilot ejects when his fighter gets heavily damaged--and the seat rockets him straight into Rodan's open mouth.
* The last shot of ''Film/JohnnyEnglish'' features Johnny English and Lorna Campbell preparing to kiss in his car...and then Johnny accidently presses the ejector seat button, launching Lorna from the vehicle.

* Discussed in ''Literature/TheJenniferMorgue'' by Creator/CharlesStross, which goes into some detail as to why an ejection seat in a car is an insanely bad idea; when Bob Howard presses the eject button on his CoolCar, the ''entire car ejects'', which is only slightly less so. It's made clear that only time you should press the button is if ''not'' pressing it is ''definitely'' going to kill you. The explanation also deflates the idea of the "easy eject"; Bob describes how, due to the G-forces involved, the pilot is likely looking at weeks in traction ''at best''.

* [[Literature/AlexRider Alex Rider's]] bike has one of these in ''Eagle Strike''. A more conventional example appears in a later book, ''Never Say Die''.
* ''Literature/TheWarAgainstTheChtorr''. 'Lizard' Tirelli has to eject after the engines on her helicopter gunship are clogged and explode in a dust storm. The rotors and tail are blown off and the [[EscapePod fuselage drifts down to the ground]] on a parachute.
* Neil Shusterman's insanely fucked-up short story ''The Dirt on Our Shoes'' has people get ejected from a spaceship that is coming down towards an alien planet. There are no parachutes and they fall to their deaths on the side of a mountain.

* When Wendy Watson flies to rescue Series/TheMiddleMan, [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots IDA]] triggers the Middlejet's seat remotely, much to Wendy's horror.
* Fighters in ''Series/BabylonFive'' are often equipped with ejector seats (the human Starfuries actually eject the entire cockpit as an EscapePod), though rescue is a bit of a crapshoot in space, especially if whatever just destroyed your fighter is still shooting in your direction.
* ''Series/KnightRider'': KITT's ejection seats never left the car, they simply catapulted the occupant a couple stories in the air. Which makes less sense. Usually Michael uses them to eject himself to a high platform he needs to reach.

* The Series/MythBusters proved you could, with some difficulty, put a crude ejector seat in a car and trick somebody into sitting on it. They also found that a rocket booster powerful enough to be useful for such a purpose [[WeaponizedExhaust would cook]] [[HoistByHisOwnPetard everyone else in the car]]. Which is why their ejection seat used [[BoringButPractical pneumatic pressure]] instead.
* In the Franchise/StargateVerse, the F-302, being space-worthy fighters, can eject the whole two-place cockpit, as to make sure the pilots can survive in space. Most of other races' {{mook mobile}}s, like the ''Series/StargateSG1'' Goa'uld's Death Gliders or the [[Series/StargateAtlantis Wraith Darts]], have no such equipment.
* ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'' has a variation of this: the heroes' [[TransformationTrinket Gamer Drivers]] have a function where, in the event that their Rider Gauge is in danger of running out, they automatically cancel the transformation in order to prevent a GameOver and subsequent CriticalExistenceFailure. [[spoiler:It fails Kiriya, aka. Kamen Rider Lazer, partway through the series as a result of Kuroto / Kamen Rider Genm's Dangerous Zombie Gashat having a jamming function that prevents this failsafe from activating, costing him his life.]]
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. In "Die Me, Dichotomy", Aeryn Sun ejects from her Prowler after it's damaged, but she's coming down over a frozen lake. Thanks to the retro-rockets it uses instead of a parachute, the seat melts through the ice, and thanks to JammedSeatbelts, Aeryn can't get free in time.

* Documentary series ''Series/PawnStars'' had someone try to sell this to the pawn shop. It was appraised as genuine. And they learned it was still functioning and in all the years it had been owned and used as a chair in someone's living room, no one decided to randomly try the eject button.

* This is the whole premise of the British game show, erm... ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Ejector Seat]]''. Contestants, if they get a question wrong, will be slowly slid backwards in their seats towards the "Danger Zone", and must answer a question correctly to stop themselves. Taking too long will have them be "ejected", which means "eliminated". The contestant's seat tips back and drops them out of the game (literally).

* Used for great hilarity in ''Series/RedDwarf''. In the episode SDRAWKCAB Rimmer is conducting the shuttle pilot exam for new crew member Kryten. He instructs Kryten to start the spacecraft and fly it through the cargo bay doors into space. Kryten presses several buttons, which is then followed by a loud "whooshing" sound as Rimmer's ejector seat actives. Rimmer then does it to himself for a FailedDramaticExit in "Stoke Me A Clipper".
* ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' features an idiot who decides to play with an old ejection seat indoors...[[TooDumbToLive with predictable results]].

* In the 2005 film of ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicRoundabout'', Dylan inadvertially uses the ejector seat on Brian while wondering if one of the buttons in Train's control panel would slow Zeebad down who is giving chase in the driller train.

* In ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion]]'', the "entry plugs" that the EVA pilots rode in could be ejected in case of emergency. They [[FailsafeFailure didn't always work]].

* At the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Mr Incredible uses the ejector seat to get Buddy out of his car. In the [[WesternAnimation/Incredibles2 sequel]], the kids use both seats to get on the ''Everjust'', Winston Deavor's hydrofoil.

* ''Series/KnightRider'': KITT's ejection seats never left the car, they simply catapulted the occupant a couple stories in the air. Which makes less sense.

* The American Gemini spacecraft had extra-strong ejection seats that were designed not only to blast the astronaut clear of the spacecraft, but outside the danger zone of a potential launcher fire, ''and'' high enough for a parachute to work. They were never used, and would probably have permanently crippled the user. This design was unusual: most manned spacecraft have used a Launch Escape System consisting of a solid fuel rocket in a tower connected to the crew capsule. If the launcher is about to explode or otherwise fail catastrophically, the crew capsule is detached and the LES activated to put it at a safe distance. The LES is typically jettisoned when the spacecraft nears orbit. This has only ever been used for real once, with a couple of other similar aborts:

A SubTrope of AbandonShip: rather than just getting the heck out of (the) Dodge, the seat is helping you out (the door). When the pilot nears the ground, he may find himself hanging from a ParachuteInATree.

* ''Film/TopGun'' shows that ejecting doesn't always help, as Goose smacks into the canopy and fatally breaks his neck. This was a real risk at one time; now the ejection seat in many fighters is designed with a mechanism to shatter the glass before the pilot could hit it in the case that the canopy is not out of the way already.[[note]]This is a critical component for ejection systems in aircraft that fly slowly or can hover. If the plane is not moving forward, the canopy separation charge does not have the power to throw the canopy clear of the seat's ejection line. The canopy of a Harrier VTOL aircraft has a very visible "squiggle" line on it; this is an explosive strip charge that shatters the canopy before the seat fires, and the seat itself extends above the pilot's head line so that the seat - not the pilot's head - will hit the canopy. While dangerous and potentially deafening, it is nevertheless substantially less dangerous than hitting the canopy.[[/note]] Additionally, the F-14's canopy had a tendency to get sucked into a low-pressure zone directly above the cockpit during ejection.

* Neil Shusterman's insanely fucked up short story ''The Dirt on Our Shoes'' has people get ejected from a spaceship that is coming down towards an alien planet. There are no parachutes and they fall to their deaths on the side of a mountain.

** And most importantly, as in real life, ejecting has a not-insignificant chance to kill or injure (from scrapes and cuts to broken bones to being impaled on a jagged piece of metal).

* ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'': One of the most famous upgrades Gadget added to her father's plane, as Monty accidentally finds out.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': Given its appearance in no fewer than two other media, it is a pretty safe assumption that every iteration of Batmobile has an ejector seat. The same goes for the [[CoolPlane Batplane/Batwing]]. One of the ''Batman vs Predator'' titles features a borrowed single-pilot police attack helicopter with an ejection seat, which is odd, because there are very few helicopters with ejection seats. There was only one single-pilot attack helicopter produced ever.

* ''Film/TopGun'' shows that ejecting doesn't always help, as Goose smacks into the canopy and breaks his neck. This was a real risk at one time; now the ejection seat in many fighters is designed with a mechanism to shatter the glass before the pilot could hit it in the case that the canopy is not out of the way already.[[note]]This is a critical component for ejection systems in aircraft that fly slowly or can hover. If the plane is not moving forward, the canopy separation charge does not have the power to throw the canopy clear of the seat's ejection line. The canopy of a Harrier VTOL aircraft has a very visible "squiggle" line on it; this is an explosive strip charge that shatters the canopy before the seat fires, and the seat itself extends above the pilot's head line so that the seat - not the pilot's head - will hit the canopy. While dangerous and potentially deafening, it is nevertheless substantially less dangerous than hitting the canopy.[[/note]] Additionally, the F-14's canopy had a tendency to get sucked into a low-pressure zone directly above the cockpit during ejection.

* ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' features an idiot [[WhatAnIdiot who decides to play with an old ejection seat indoors]]...[[TooDumbToLive with predictable results]].

* ''Film/TheCannonballRun'' features the Aston Martin DB V from ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', complete with ejector seat, driven by Creator/RogerMoore playing [[Film/JamesBond man who thinks that he is Roger Moore]]. The seat malfunctions and Moore ends up ejecting himself.

* At the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Mr Incredible uses the ejector seat to get Buddy out of his car.

* In ''Film/{{Stealth}}'', the {{Love Interest|s}} pilot is forced to eject in enemy territory. There's a long scene where she tries to out-fall the debris from her recently destroyed aircraft. When she finally ''does'' deploy her chute, the debris slices through it, lights it on fire, and burns it away just a few meters from the trees. [[spoiler: She survives with just a few scratches though.]]

-->'''Pilot:''' ''[subtitles]'' Don't push the [[BigRedButton red button!]]

* Used for great hilarity in ''Series/RedDwarf''. In the episode SDRAWKCAB Rimmer is conducting the shuttle pilot exam for new crew member Kryten. He instructs Kryten to start the spacecraft and fly it through the cargo bay doors into space. Kryten presses several buttons, which is then followed by a loud "whooshing" sound as Rimmer's ejector seat actives. Rimmer then does it to himself in "Stoke Me A Clipper".