Air Force instructor pilot dies after ejection seat activates while on the ground

May 14 (UPI) -- A U.S. Air Force instructor pilot died Tuesday from injuries suffered when an ejection seat deployed while on the ground at Sheppard Air Force Base Monday.

The unnamed instructor pilot was in a propeller-driven,single-engine, two-seat T-6A Texan II training plane when the ejection seat activated during ground operations Monday.

The deadly incident happened at about 1:55 p.m. CDT Monday, and Air Force officials said the pilot died early Tuesday morning.

The Air Force is withholding the pilot's name until 24 hours after the pilot's family is notified and is investigating the cause of the seat ejection.

The pilot was assigned to the 80th Flying Training Wing, which operates the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program.

The multinational school trains NATO pilots in the basics of flying combat and support aircraft.

The incident occurred two years after the Air Force grounded 76 T-6 training aircraft and 203 T-38 training jets due to potentially defective ejection seats.

The Air Force Materiel Command said explosive cartridges used in the ejection seats might be defective, but no faulty cartridges were found after two months of inspections.

The Air Force's T-6 aircraft average of 17 years of age while the T-38s average 56 years of age.

Air Force officials say the advanced age of the training aircraft slows the training and production of qualified pilots.