Ejection in hostile environments: medico-psychological aspects for the fighter pilot.

Introduction: In the French Air Force, commitment of fighter squadrons in Afghanistan revives the fear among pilots of being ejected in a hostile environment, along with the prospect of being captured.

Clinical Observations: Although ejection in a hostile environment is an exceptional event, it is what flight crews fear most strongly over enemy territory. Since the widespread use of ejection seats in fighter aircraft in the 1950s, ejection has become a means of protecting the crews' lives.