Vlad, thanks for posting, esp. the link as that article really covered a lot of the Aardvark's history. From an EOD perspective, when the capsule was activated, depending on the conditions, a whole lot of explosive actuators (CAD/PAD items) and "miles" of shielded mild detonating cord would remain live. It would be a "treasure trove" for Pepper. But for the EOD troops clearing the wreckage, it meant LOTS of work. If the capsule was NOT activated, the task of removing all explosives increased exponentially, along with the biologics that EOD was sometimes tasked with. I learned that you didn't want to 1) arrive early, 2) bring lots of gloves and 3) lead intelligent, enthusiastic Troops familiar to some extent with the aircraft, when you respond to an F-111 crash where the module was NOT deployed.
Taber