Hero pilot, 70, averted air show disaster after co-pilot hit throttle of giant bomber by mistake



As the Cold War bomber shot towards the air show crowd, retired RAF pilot Bob Prothero knew he had to act... and fast.

The 75-ton Victor was only meant to have slowly taxied down the runway and stop for a photoshoot, but his amateur co-pilot had accidentally slammed on the throttle, sending it 150ft up into the sky.

Now it was veering, putting it on a collision course with the crowd and a nearby housing estate if they tried to land.

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But Mr Prothero, 70, who last flew a Victor in the 1980s and whose flying licence has long expired, wrestled with the plane's controls to steer it away from potential disaster.

He landed on one wheel and in a cloud of dust, but without a scratch - on grass at the end of the runway.

Hailed a hero after an inquiry into the near disaster he said it was 'the most terrifying nine seconds of my life'.

Grandfather Mr Prothero said: 'I was petrified. There wasn't time to think about anything. Everything was pure instinct on that day.

'It all happened extremely fast. I was shouting at the co-pilot to pull the throttle back.

Hero: Retired pilot Bob Prothero (left) safely landed the plane. The RAF veteran is also pictured as a Squadron Commander in 1979



For some reason he never did and I saw the nose rise into the air, I thought 'Oh God here we go, how are we going to get out of this one?'

'So I had to make a snap decision: 'Do I try to land the plane or do I fly round in a circle and land properly'?

'I put the nose down and noticed that we were well and truly airborne but because of the crosswind we were not over the runway.

'I thought, 'where are we and what can we do to rescue the situation'?



'Thankfully, I managed to pitch the plane back towards the runway and away from any spectators.



'My only concern was getting the plane down as quickly and safely as possible.

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'Although I touched down on the grass I still managed to keep it under control. All that was left to do was get out and kiss the ground.

'Nobody could really believe what had happened. There were people slapping me on the back and congratulating me on not crashing the thing and ruining the day.'



The drama unfolded at the Cold War Jets day at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome, near Lutterworth, Leicestershire, on May 3, where the plane - named Teasin' Tina - is kept, and was captured on video by an onlooker who posted it on the YouTube internet site.



In the footage the plane is seen swerving to the left after takeoff and veering back to the right before touching down.



One spectator is heard asking: 'Should it be doing that?'' while others shriek in disbelief.



The aircraft is designed to use a drag parachute as a brake, but Mr Prothero did not have time to deploy it.

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Instead he managed to reduce the throttle during the emergency landing.

David Walton, managing director of the aerodrome, said: 'It was a brilliant piece of airmanship from Bob. If the aircraft had stalled the day could so easily have ended in tragedy.'

Mr Prothero, a former RAF Group Captain, of Portsmouth, Hampshire, was part of the two man crew. His co-pilot was an engineer with no flying experience who worked on the bomber's upkeep and was drafted in to control the throttle at the air show.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) launched an investigation because neither are officially licensed to fly, although it was fine for them to taxi along the runway as had been intended.



In its report, the CAA later blamed the unnamed co-pilot, saying he 'froze' when ordered to pull off the throttle, but it is not taking legal action.

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Ian Weston, head of enforcement, said: 'The aircraft took off because the engineer did not shut down the engines when told to do so by the pilot.



'The pilot attempted to shut the engines down but the aircraft lifted off.



'The problem arose as a result of the engineer 'freezing' at a time of high stress.



'This is a recognised state of mind which can affect certain individuals.'



Teasin' Tina, along with Lusty Lindy, is one of only Victors that remain in working condition.

