The noise level is deafening as the engines of the tow tractors groan under the load of an aircraft during respotting of the deck. Maintenance men are performing a high-power turnup on two "birds" just aft of the island, and the screams from the engines exceed all of the other noises. Suddenly, a loud explosion shatters the air,and an object...no! Two objects are airborne in the area above the A-7's. What! Is one of those objects a man, or is it just a bundle of cleaning rags? Gravity pulls the objects back to the flight deck,and two distinct sounds are heard: a metallic clang, clunk, clunk, and a sound much like the sound of a water- melon being dropped on cement. Now,we can identify at least one of the objects. It is an ejection seat of an A-7. The other object appears to be a man--a badly misshapen man. Both of his arms and one leg are broken. His nose is bloody, but he seems unconcerned about his condition. He is DEAD!

A premature death can be your fate if you do not understand the operation of the equipment that you are maintaining or are utilizing.