Tri-Service
Blinded RAF Pilot Guided To Safe Landing
An RAF pilot rendered almost blind due to a medical condition managed to land his Hawk T1 training jet safely on the runway at RAF Leeming recently.
Thanks to constant communication with a wingman flying nearby, the dramatic rescue occured during what was a routine training flight in the North Yorkshire skies.
A Hawk T1-A trainer jet from 100 Squadron RAF Leeming
The Daily Telegraph reported that RAF chiefs considered ditching the aircraft and allowing the unnamed pilot to eject over the North Sea, but decided to attempt the daring rescue instead.
The initial plan was abandoned as dumping the jet would have risked serious ejection injuries and the plane would also have been lost.
Officials were concerned, however, with the slim chances of getting both plane and pilot on the ground safely.
The decision was taken to send Flight Lieutenant Paul Durban up in a plane to talk the impaired airman safely down on to the tarmac.
"The other pilot flew behind him and acted as his eyes to get him home."
A source told the Telegraph: “They think he had an infection in his eye and he just couldn’t see. The other pilot flew behind him and talked him down. They got him down safely and the plane is OK. Flt Lt Durban is fine too, though I think he was pretty exhausted.”
A statement from Air Vice-Marshal Gary Waterfall CBE confirmed the story:
"During a routine training sortie yesterday, one of our pilots temporarily suffered a partial loss of vision. To assist in the recovery of the aircraft to RAF Leeming, the pilot used the radio to request the assistance of a wingman and was promptly joined by another aircraft from the same squadron."
The world-famous RAF Red Arrows team fly Hawk jets
The statement went on to describe the "uneventful" return of the pilot and plane to the airfield: "The impaired pilot flew in formation back to RAF Leeming with the other aircraft where the pilot landed the aircraft uneventfully."
The video below showcases some of the same type of RAF training jets involved in the incident training in Akrotiri, Cyprus in 2014:
100 Squadron's BAE Systems Hawks make up the last remaining jets stationed at RAF Leeming.
The base provides an air combat training service as well as support to the Joint Forward Air Control Training and Standards Unit.
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