An English Electric Lightning jet roared to life and took off with a RAF engineer trapped inside when the take-off sequence was accidentally triggered

Photo Credit: 1. Evening Standard / Hulton Archive / Getty Images 2. MidJourney
Photo Credit: 1. Evening Standard / Hulton Archive / Getty Images 2. MidJourney

Not all Royal Air Force heroes take to the skies in pilot gear. Walter Holden, an RAF ground engineer, was among the countless unsung experts dedicated to ensuring fighter jets were primed for combat. But what started as a routine inspection on an English Electric Lightning quickly spiraled into a life-threatening ordeal.

Stationed in the cockpit to carry out standard system diagnostics, Holden inadvertently triggered the jet’s takeoff sequence. Suddenly, the engines roared to life and the Lightning rocketed down the runway—leaving Holden, who had never flown a plane in his life, helplessly locked inside the accelerating aircraft.

Walter Holden trained as a pilot

Members of the No. 111 Squadron RAF standing on the wing of an English Electric Lightning
No. 111 Squadron RAF with an English Electric Lightning, 1965. (Photo Credit: Peter Warren / Daily Mirror / Mirrorpix / Getty Images)

In 1943, Walter “Taffy” Holden enlisted in the RAF while studying mechanical engineering. While he initially had no plans to become a pilot, he completed mandatory flight training on a de Havilland Tiger Moth and, later, on a Harvard aircraft.

After successfully finishing his training, he earned his pilot’s wings and went on to fly a de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk.

Performing routine maintenance

English Electric Lightning F1s lined up on a runway
English Electric Lightning F1s of No. 74 Squadron RAF, at RAF Coltishall, 1961. (Photo Credit: Evening Standard / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

Walter Holden shifted his attention from aviation to focusing on his career in RAF engineering. Excelling in his duties, he advanced to lead the No. 33 Maintenance Unit RAF at RAF Lyneham by 1966. The unit played a key role in the upkeep of aircraft like the English Electric Lightning, slated for retirement, as well as Canberras and the Gloster Meteor.

Needing to test aircraft XM135

Members of No. 74 Squadron RAF walking past a row of English Electric Lightnings
Members of No. 74 Squadron RAF walking past a row of English Electric Lightning at the Farnborough Airshow, 1961. (Photo Credit: Evening Standard / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

Walter Holden needed a pilot to evaluate aircraft XM135 so the fleet could be formally retired, but it would take more than a week for one to arrive. Not wanting to wait, he decided to do it himself. His job was only to taxi the Lightning on the ground to check various electrical systems—revving the engine to high speeds, shutting it down, and testing the brakes.

Since there was no plan to take off, Holden skipped wearing a helmet and radio, using hand signals to communicate with his ground crew instead. The aircraft didn’t have a canopy, its landing gear was fixed in the down position, and the ejector seat wasn’t functional.

Things take a turn…

English Electric Lightning taking off
English Electric Lightning F1 with No. 74 Squadron RAF at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, 1961. (Photo Credit: Evening Standard / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

The first test went smoothly, but during the second, Walter Holden accidentally pushed the throttle too far, activating the afterburner. Since he wasn’t familiar with the Lightning, he didn’t know how to turn it off.

The plane quickly picked up speed. He narrowly avoided a fuel tanker and a low-flying de Havilland Comet, but soon realized he was headed straight for a village at the end of the runway. With no way to stop and little time left, Holden had no choice but to take off.

A touchy landing

English Electric Lightning XM135 on display
English Electric Lightning XM135. (Photo Credit: Alan Wilson / Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)

Once airborne, Walter Holden kept a remarkable level of calm and acted decisively. He shut off the afterburner to slow the Lightning and concentrated on how to bring it down—despite having zero flight training. His first two landing attempts ended in failure, as he couldn’t get the aircraft aligned with the runway. On his third approach, though, he finally managed to set the jet down.

Drawing on his experience with older taildragger planes, Holden instinctively applied what he knew—which led him to lower the nose too early, causing the Lightning’s tail to smack the runway. The force tore off the drogue chute that would have helped decelerate the aircraft. Even so, Holden successfully brought Lightning XM135 to a halt, coming to a stop with just 300 feet of runway remaining.

What began as a simple maintenance test transformed into a white-knuckle, 12-minute flight that cemented Holden’s place in RAF lore.

Walter Holden wasn’t punished for the incident

English Electric Lightning F1 XM470 taxiing down a runway
English Electric Lightning F1 XM740 with the RAF 74 Tiger Squad landing after a formation flying routine at the 1962 SBAC show at Farnborough. (Photo Credit: Victor Crawshaw / Daily Mirror / Mirrorpix / Getty Images)

Despite the way he landed, the Lightning was repaired and returned to service until 1974, when it was put on display at Imperial War Museum Duxford. Holden emerged without a scratch, but was put on leave in Italy after the media caught wind of the story. He wasn’t punished, and only had to admit that he should have left the test to a pilot familiar with Lightnings.

With this small slap on the wrist, he continued serving with the RAF until the early 1980s.

Rosemary Giles

Rosemary Giles is a history content writer with Hive Media. She received both her bachelor of arts degree in history, and her master of arts degree in history from Western University. Her research focused on military, environmental, and Canadian history with a specific focus on the Second World War. As a student, she worked in a variety of research positions, including as an archivist. She also worked as a teaching assistant in the History Department.

Since completing her degrees, she has decided to take a step back from academia to focus her career on writing and sharing history in a more accessible way. With a passion for historical learning and historical education, her writing interests include social history, and war history, especially researching obscure facts about the Second World War. In her spare time, Rosemary enjoys spending time with her partner, her cats, and her horse, or sitting down to read a good book.

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