From Wikipedia · · 2 min
The Engineer Who Accidentally Flew a Mach 2 Jet
When a routine ground test went wrong, an RAF engineer with zero jet experience accidentally launched himself into the sky.
In brief
When a routine ground test went wrong, an RAF engineer with zero jet experience accidentally launched himself into the sky. Even under extreme panic, relying on core fundamentals can turn a potential catastrophe into a safe landing. Originally reported by Wikipedia.
A quick ground test
In July 1966, Wing Commander Walter "Taffy" Holden attempted to diagnose a persistent electrical fault on an English Electric Lightning at RAF Lyneham.
“the electrical inverter supplying power to flight instruments would cut out during the first yards of the takeoff”
The wrong pilot in the cockpit
Holden was a mechanical engineer who had only flown small propeller planes. No qualified Lightning test pilot was available for another week.
Totally unprepared for flight
Because the test required only short ground taxi runs, the canopy was removed, Holden wore no helmet or radio, and the ejection seat was set to inert.
“The landing gear was locked in a down position in a test mode.”
Past the point of no return
During taxiing, Holden accidentally shoved the throttle past the afterburner gate. Unfamiliar with the mechanism, he could not figure out how to disengage it.
Dodging traffic on the tarmac
Hurtling down the runway in the supersonic interceptor, Holden narrowly missed a fuel tanker truck and a de Havilland Comet jet taking off right above him.
Taking off to survive
Running out of tarmac at terrifying speed, Holden pulled back on the control stick and launched the jet into the air to avoid a fatal ground crash.
Trapped in the sky
Once airborne, Holden managed to disengage the afterburner. Ejection was impossible due to the disabled seat, forcing him to land the jet himself.
“Holden considered ejecting; however, that was not possible because the ejection seat was in inert ground mode.”
Guessing the landing speed
Holden aborted his first two landing attempts due to wrong speed and height. Vaguely recalling a 150-knot landing speed, he lined up for a third approach.
A tail-scraping landing
Reverting to his old propeller plane training, he adopted a taildragger attitude. This caused a tailstrike that detached his brake parachute, but he braked hard to a stop.
Exonerated after twelve minutes aloft
Holden was airborne for 12 minutes. An official inquiry confirmed he broke no orders and praised him for saving both himself and the aircraft.
“An inquiry confirmed that Holden had not acted against any orders in the Flight Order Book”
At a glance
Even under extreme panic, relying on core fundamentals can turn a potential catastrophe into a safe landing.
