eli5: the F14 tomcat ejection- does it matter if the pilot or RIO initiates ejection

Question

In the original Top Gun, Maverick says that he cannot reach the ejection handles because he is pinned forward, which forces Goose to eject them out of the plane. Would the outcome have been different if Maverick was able to punch them out instead of Goose having to? Or would Goose still have crashed into the canopy?

In: 1

Answer 1

Due respect to the previous commenters, but yes, this was a thing in the F-14. From memory, something went badly wrong with the TF-33s in one of the prototypes (it became a thing with the F-14) and the pilot had to eject. They noted that the canopy hung around the area of the pilot’s ejection and that this was not good.