The engineer who accidentally flew an English Electric Lightning

In case anyone's wondering what happened next- his landing resulted in a tailstrike breaking the tail bumper and detaching the drogue parachute, fortunately however he managed to bring the aircraft to a stop 90 meters before the runway ended. As for holden himself it was recognised that this incident was an accident and he was cleared of any wrongdoings.

Yeah boss it was a accident I swear.

I will remember that excuse next time I want to have a little fly.

English Electric lightning, it makes the ground tremble when it’s let loose. Ascends like a missile. Best plane I’ve seen at an air show.

He recreated the original problem and then created a new problem. That plane never left the books.

This one of two stories EVERYONE who was stationed with Lightnings heard. The other was the techie who climbed into the cockpit not knowing that sombody had not pinned the ejector seat. This style seat had top and bottom activation handles. His foot caught the seat pan handle as he stepped in and he heard a "click" and jumped out as the the ejector seat fired launching the seat out of the aircraft, causing it to hit the hangar roof and come down hitting another aircraft. They were used to illustraye the need to 1. ALWAYS pin the seat and check it BEFORE doing anything. 2. Do not play with the controls. I was at RAF Binbrook "Last of the Lightnings" 1983 - 1985. My first (and favourite) operational unit. Straight from trade training, "green as grass and just as cabbage looking!" Never did get to fly in one. Just not pretty enough!😊

Bet his sphincter was chewing a toffee the whole time!!

Bro fulfilled a childhood dream

US/Russian/Chinese Aircrafts: Tons of steps to start. British Aircrafts: Push-to-Start

There was a story of a Saudi/Kuwaiti pilot (foreign government customer and there weren't any others) in a training flight in an OCU situation who was used to taking off on full power which is standard on every warbird except the Lightning, but got into the Lightning, forgot, and out of habit engaged afterburner for takeoff and was over the Dutch coast before he realised and throttled back. Apparently taking off in a Lightning on afterburner was likely to rip the undercart off or at least damage it.

I used to work with his son Nigel (a good lad) in the cops.

Rumour has it there's a gang of guys who work in Bovington who sit around laughing at these videos every day.

I remember camping with me dad and uncles in the lake District when I was a lad ..those lightnings would practice between the mountains and valleys very low and very very fast nothing could touch them 💪🇬🇧

" reheat " = Afterburner ...

I'm reading Taffy's Wikipedia page and his only flying experience was a few practice flights in a de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk. Which is damn incredible he manage to land a jet having only flown a two seater prop trainer. Bit of a tangent but I'm annoyed a Canadian plane has the name Chipmunk. There's so many cooler animals in Indigenous languages we could've used but no, Chipmunk.

The book "Out of the blue" tells this story in the words of the man himself. Its an excellent read, comprising stories by ex- RAF personell, including the pilot who flew a Hawker Hunter "under" Tower Bridge in London.

We call it "accident" here as well. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Truly one beautiful airplane 🥰

"Accidentally"

My God ....hes going to make it..!!! Well done Taffy old boy !!!