Posted on 10/12/2006 7:15:56 AM PDT by rawhide
Defence bosses dismissed footage of British soldiers apparently playing "chicken" with a low flying Harrier jump jet as servicemen "letting off steam". The 15-second video of the daredevil game was apparently filmed at Kandahar air base in southern Afghanistan.
It showed one soldier standing with his back towards the horizon as the £40 million war plane approaches at high speed.
The Harrier, capable of speeds of up to 660mph, can be seen and heard approaching as his colleagues behind the camera egg him on.
But as it thunders just metres overhead the soldier glances over his shoulder and dives to the ground, shouting a string of expletives.
It is not clear if the plane was taking off from the air base or deliberately flying low over the group of soldiers.
The footage was published on the internet video sharing site YouTube.com by a 44-year-old former RAF serviceman.
An MoD spokesman said: "The Harrier provides excellent support to our guys on the ground but we do not recommend that they fly that low so we will have a word with them.
"The soldiers in Afghanistan are under pressure and this is them letting off steam."
The Harrier is used by the RAF for the close air support of ground troops tackling targets such as enemy positions, tanks and artillery.
Yesterday, Brigadier Ed Butler, the outgoing commander of the British task force in Afghanistan, paid tribute to the work of airmen in the conflict.
Aircrews have been supporting all of the international forces in southern Afghanistan and last month dropped nearly 500 bombs and rockets.
The air campaign is the RAF's largest bombing operation since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
There are two RAF squadrons currently serving in Afghanistan including 1 (Fighter) Squadron, based at RAF Cottesmore in Rutland.
I'd pay for that.
for those in Rio Linda: Like it wasn't staged -- like everything else you see on video?
fantasy-reality-blur alert.
OUTSTANDING!
Hey I don't see anything so terrible about that, although I hope that soldier had some ear plugs as that Harrier went screaming overhead!
Wouldn't you just love to see Comrade Chia Pet in Pyongyang hitting the deck like that as one of those Harriers was coming in at tree top level?
C'mon, it missed him by at least 50 feet. :)
There's a picture out there of a reporter doing a stand-up talking about the Spitfire fighter, and in the distance you hear the drone of an engine...and then the guy suddenly drops to the ground and the Spit howls over the guy balls-out at about 300 mph, maybe ten feet off the ground. Now THAT'S low.
}:-)4
The Harrier ...
Most excellent design ever created ....
For the conversion of fuel to noise.
Can you do a translation for us? Sounds like, "tough it out," but it's not.
The plane was 20 feet or more to the guy's right ... which does nothing to alter the fact that this was cooler than all getout.
Back in the day, a couple of guys in my squadron were flying a "low level" training mission in F-4's, they decided to take it down "on the deck" and were flying at only 50 feet ( 300 was standard for a low level). As they popped over a ridge, they caught sight of a picnic table with a spread and family having a picnic RIGHT THERE. The WSO looked back in the mirrors and saw the table go up and over and watched the family get blown around by the jet wash. No one got hurt but they were not amused....
When I was in the AF we would make our way to the end of the runway and lay in the grass next to the landing runway. Yes, beer was involved.
the rooster tail is funny.
I remember that video. Now that was scary (and funny).
The speaker is a Northern lad, hence "tough it out" sounding very similar to what he actually says...
Please do. I'll tough it out. ;)
Most excellent design ever created ....
For the conversion of fuel to noise.
The EA-6B still has my vote.
ooops!
THESE are kind of folks I want for allies in the WoT! G-d bless 'em all.
They've had the same problem at the Buffalo Airport with kids lying at the ends of the runways.
I'll betcha these guys have been doing this sort of thing for a long time. It's certainly safer than flipping off a train while on the train tracks.
Sorry...NOTHING beats the F-4 Phantom II for that. Two J-79s at full afterburner on a low 450-knot airshow pass is just one of the most amazing walls of sound you'll ever hear. Raw, brute, unadulterated power, and a total triumph of sheer thrust over aerodynamics. :)
Old "Double Ugly" is the third-loudest airplane I've ever heard. #2 was a B-1B in full afterburner, and #1, by a mile, was the Concorde.
}:-)4
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.