What is this handle for? Oops! F15 snafu

[XS22J8R]

I remember when going to a lot of airshows and military open houses back in the day, there were panels on tactical jets on display that were temporarily taped up to keep anyone from accidently activating an ejection seat.
It'd be interesting to hear what led to this mishap. The tweet said it was a recruiting officer in the back seat, so he may not have been someone experienced in fighter cockpit procedures and precautions, and if so apparently didn't get adequately briefed!
At least the guy who accidently ejected seems uninjured, though their flightsuit likely will need a good washing.
MSN

 

[hemi71x]

Back in the dinosaur days, i was a Air Force flight line crew chief on the RF-4C Phantoms.
It's impossible not knowing what that ejection seat handle is used for.
In order to go up for a flight if your not a pilot or navigator, you have to go thru a class for "egress seat training"
I never got to go up in the Phantoms during my tour of duty in Germany, as they stopped crew chief of the quarter flights when the supposedly "gas crisis" came about.
Pulling that handle was one big "F" up, that's for certain.

 

[XS22J8R]

Hearing that story reminded me of another accidental back seater ejection that happened in an F14. In this situation, the pilot rolling the plane inverted resulted in the passenger in the back seat grabbing his seatbottom to try to pull himself back into the seat, and he grabbed an ejection seat handle instead. THE STORY OF THE F-14 PILOT THAT WAS ABLE TO LAND HIS TOMCAT WITHOUT CANOPY AFTER HIS BACKSEATER ERRONEOUSLY BAILED OUT - The Aviation Geek Club
A kid got killed at an airshow years ago, when he managed to activate an ejection seat in a Navy plane he was looking at. https://www.decidedlygrim.net/?p=7147

 

[hemi71x]

Hearing that story reminded me of another accidental back seater ejection that happened in an F14. In this situation, the pilot rolling the plane inverted resulted in the passenger in the back seat grabbing his seatbottom to try to pull himself back into the seat, and he grabbed an ejection seat handle instead. THE STORY OF THE F-14 PILOT THAT WAS ABLE TO LAND HIS TOMCAT WITHOUT CANOPY AFTER HIS BACKSEATER ERRONEOUSLY BAILED OUT - The Aviation Geek Club
A kid got killed at an airshow years ago, when he managed to activate an ejection seat in a Navy plane he was looking at. https://www.decidedlygrim.net/?p=7147

I haven't a clue how an ejection seat ever got activated at an air show.
That seat should have been "safety pinned" in the first place, if that aircraft was on display at an air show.
Or even disarmed if there were personal there at the show to do that.
On the Martin Baker ejection seats on the Phantom, i had to remove "safety pins" with big red "remove before flight" signs on them, when strapping the pilots in for flight.
Then pin the seats when they return from their mission.
And i sat on those seats all the time pre flighting, and post flighting the Phantom without any issues.
That was my "bird" in the signature picture. RF-4C, 69-370

 

[XS22J8R]

This is what I was referring to where they would tape over an access hatch to something on planes on display at airshows. There is a "rescue" label pointing toward it. I assume it is for rescue crews to do something like jettison the canopy to get access to pilots when an accident happened?