A pilot was lucky to walk away unharmed after a crash-landing saw the last operational Sea Vixen XP924 burst into flames at an English air show on Sunday.

The Sea Vixen, dubbed Foxy Lady, was returning from the Duxford Air Show in Cambridgeshire when the pilot was forced to perform a "belly-landing," a descent with no landing gear, at the Royal Naval Air Station in Somerset.

Footage uploaded to YouTube shows a fire erupting in the plane's engines as the pilot released the canopy to ensure a speedy escape.

Photographer Scott Dabinett, 32, was also on hand to capture the hair-raising crash landing and described the fear that those on the ground had for the pilot's wellbeing.

"The feeling between the few of us standing by was that this does not look good. On the final approach we all crossed our fingers and held our breaths whilst pointing our cameras at the Sea Vixen. As soon as she touched the runway the canopy was released and engines were shut down," he told the Telegraph .

"She slid up the runway very smoothly and under control. It was much quieter than I was expecting. Eventually she came to a stop. We kept waiting for movement from the pilot."

"As soon as we saw the pilot was OK we all started breathing again. Everyone was shaking. The emergency guys were on the scene straight away and took control of the situation."

The Sea Vixen has had a chequered history and did not take part in any active wars as a result of numerous technical faults.

"The Vixen was the first British aircraft to be armed with guided missiles, rockets and bombs instead of guns and was formidably capable," according to Navy Wings .

A prototype of the fighter jet was involved in a 1952 air show disaster which killed the pilot and left 29 spectators dead.