very scary vid at the link Geron
Posted on 09/08/2009 4:31:06 AM PDT by naturalman1975
A retired RAF pilot was hailed a hero today after he wrestled a World War II bomber away from a crowd of spectators and houses when the giant aircraft accidentally took off at an air show.
The giant Victor bomber - named Teasin' Tina - was only supposed to taxi down the runway and stop for a photoshoot before returning to the hangar.
But the bungling 'co-pilot' - an engineer with no flying experience - hit the throttle by mistake and the 75-tonne bomber lurched 150 feet into the air.
Stunned pilot Bob Prothero, 70, grabbed the controls as the Victor bomber veered off the runway and climbed into the air on a collision course with the crowd and a nearby housing estate.
Quick-thinking Mr Prothero, who last flew a Victor in the 1980s and whose flying licence has long expired, took the controls and wrestled the gigantic plane to safety.
It landed in a field at the end of a runway without a single casualty or scratch to the aircraft.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) launched an investigation into the incident at the Cold War Jets day at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome, near Lutterworth, Leicestershire, on May 3.
A report later blamed the co-pilot, who has not been named, saying he 'froze' under pressure and forgot to hit the brakes
Yesterday, grandfather-of-four Mr Prothero described his heroics as 'the most terrifying nine seconds of my life'. Speaking from his home in Portsmouth, Hampshire, the former RAF Group Captain said: 'I was petrified. There wasn't time to think about anything. Everything was pure instinct on that day.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
'I thought "Where are we and what can we do to rescue the situation?"
And that's why they train you to not panic and to work the problem, until you've solved it or there's nothing left to do.
is there a pic?
Nice cleanup, Mr Prothero!
very scary vid at the link Geron
lol
Yeah, that caught my eye too but it just goes to show that the RAF had and has great people. They do their country proud!
The same Mr. Prothero who once, when his house was alight, stood in the middle of his living room, saying, “A fine Christmas!” and smacking at the smoke with a slipper?
Typical. At least he’s consistent.
Here's YouTube of Teasin' Tina
H.P. VICTOR "TEASIN' TINA"- BRUNTINGTHORPE 25-5-2008
That was pretty scary
Unintended acceleration?
Just how were those brakes supposed to work once the plane left the tarmac?
No way that plane is suddenly going to “leap” into the air from taxi speed.
I guess it was a WW II bomber if WW II ended in sometime in the 1950s.
Oof! That thing wallowed and definitely looked like it wasn’t going to make it.
Quick thinking by that pilot.
...they wudda had to hose it out if I was on board...
On the other hand, I bet Bomber Command would have liked to have a few Victors in World War II...
Where were these "journalists" when the Germans attacked Pearl Harbour?
With their knowledge and time keeping, probably trying to get to Versailles to cover the peace talks.
Those Brits sure know how to design a plane, can’t decide if they are sexy, macho, cool or just different.
Take any decade and the British have made a contribution of historic proportions and legendary aircraft. They may not be the fastest, the most hi-tech or the biggest but they always surpass in one area or another.
The Mosquito Bomber, Lancaster, Gloster meteor just to name a few.
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