We ’ve all made mistake on the caper . fortunately , our fault do n’t often put us in an almost certain death scenario that we narrowly escape from , becoming a legend of the aviation community in the process . However , one man that did exactly that is Walter “ Taffy ” Holden in his infamous trajectory in 1966 .
An engineer by trade , Holden unite the cadets to go to university in 1943 , where he pull in a mechanical engineering level . He gained minimum experience in small , undivided - engine aircraft during training , in which he flew a biplane and then did some training in a propellor aircraft called the DHC-1 Chipmunk . While Holden did gain his pilot wing , he continued to pursue technology and became in command of the No . 33 Maintenance Unit of the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) at RAF Lyneham by 1966 . As such , his only experience was in bantam , slow , and wide-eyed aircraft – nothing of which prepare him to take flight one of the fast jet fighters of the propagation .
Holden ’s unit asseverate their premiere jet battler , theEnglish Electric Lightning F.1 . Powered by two huge engines and ramp up to move around in square line at speeds of up to Mach 2 ( 2,470 km / h , 1,535 mph ) , the Lightning was an unbelievable feat of technology . It had afterburning engines ( that ’s the jet of fire you see come from the back of supersonic jets ) and was the first jet capable to supercruise , meaning it did n’t even require these afterburners to suffer supersonic flights . basically , this jet was earnestly , in earnest quick .
On that fatal day , Taffy was work on the squirt , trying to replicate an electric problem that occurred when the airplane whirred up to speed . He climbed into the cockpit to press the throttle a bit – however , in doing so , he depressed the throttle so much , it engage the afterburner , causing a surge in powerfulness that saw hurtling down the rail .
No problem , good ? Just power down the locomotive engine . Except this special K in doubtfulness had mesh gates on the gas pedal once the afterburner were engaged , and Taffy was n’t train on how to discharge them . Someone hadluckily secernate himprior to the maintenance , but he was get too fast and there was another plane that he had to annul in front of him – he had to make a snap decision , and he chose to take off .
Equipped with no helmet , no communication theory with someone that actually screw how to aviate the thing , and land gear lock in the down side , Taffy blasted through the runway and narrowly avoid the other aircraft before leaving the ground . He prove to exclude , but the projection buttocks was in service mode , so he was stupefy deep down .
He manage to free the engine and turned the green around , essay to land on a dissimilar runway . The first attempt was not going to terminate well so Taffy abort , and he also aborted the 2nd attempt .
in conclusion , he managed to amount in at the correct slant and go slow enough to match down , where he then used a maneuver called the “ taildragger ” in which he slammed the aircraft ’s tail down onto the rails ; he had learned this from single - seat aircraft , though it is certainly not ideal for the Lightning . Taffy climb out andreportedlysaid “ terribly sorry Sir ” - perhaps the most British reaction possible .
The aircraft was repaired and give to service , and now lies fully inviolate in theImperial War Museum in Duxford .
Taffy was found to have acted in the adept interest of himself and the aircraft , and stayed in the RAF until recede many years afterwards . He died in 2016 , aged 90 , leaving behind the ridiculous and much - loved story of an engine driver that accidentally wing a jet .
