Mike Harland died in the incident over Norfolk on 14 November 2007 An RAF Tornado test pilot told an inquest that he heard an explosion before discovering his navigator had fallen out of the aircraft.
Mike Harland, 44, who worked for BAE Systems, died when his seat slipped from the jet as it was flying upside down 6,000ft above South Creake.
The incident happened on a flight from RAF Marham in Norfolk in November 2007.
Pilot Mark Williams, 50, said he looked in the mirrors to check on Mr Harland but saw “nothing”.
Mr Harland, from Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, suffered multiple injuries and his body was later found in a field near South Creake, the inquest in Norwich heard.
The plane landed safely at Marham and the pilot was not seriously hurt.
Former RAF fighter pilot Mr Williams said he and Mr Harland were in the latter stages of the 90-minute test flight.
He said the accident happened about “half a second” after he “inverted” the jet.
He said: “The air in the cockpit became mist. When I opened my eyes, I saw the mist was also filled with yellow debris, like loft insulation, which was rushing around the cockpit. There were also several bits of paper.”
“I looked in my mirrors and I saw nothing,” he told inquest jurors.
“I could see right the way back to the rear bulkhead.”
He added: “Once I realised he had gone, I turned the aircraft around straightaway to look for a parachute.”
The inquest heard the tail fin had hit the seat as Mr Harland emerged from the Tornado, causing damage which would have prevented either of two parachutes from working.
Oliver Sanders, a lawyer representing the Ministry of Defence, praised Mr Williams’ “presence of mind and calmness” in a “truly shocking situation”.
The inquest continues.
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