There are some clubs that are almost impossible to get into, but few can claim to be quite as selective about membership as the Ejection Tie Club. To become a member of this truly elite association, you have to have been fired out of a military plane by ejection seat. Established after World war II, the club has 5,607 members worldwide. To date, only 10 women have successfully applied to join the Ejection Tie Club, with the first being Lt. Linda Maloney, a former naval aviator and mother of two, who ejected from an A-6 Intruder in 1991. During the flight, one of the hydraulic lights came on, indicating failure. The plane was at 15,000 feet when it began to slowly roll to the right. When the plane could not be steadied, Lt. Maloney pulled the lower ejection handle and her seat exploded through the canopy glass. She lost consciousness briefly, and when she came to she was hanging in her parachute, heading towards the ocean. Though she had minor injuries, she was back flying within weeks. Every member of the Ejection Tie Club receives a tie and pin — a brooch for the women — which depicts a red triangle, the recognized international danger symbol for an ejection seat.
