FIVE years ago this week, an RAF fighter jet pilot who suddenly lost his sight while on a training flight was guided down to safety by a colleague who raced to his aid.
Hawk jets flying in close formation over RAF Leeming, Bedale
The Northern Echo’;s report on the blind pilot
Leading airmen described the rescue at RAF Leeming at the time as "amazing" - saying the 622mph maximum speed Hawk T Mk 1 combat planes would still have been travelling at 115mph when they landed at the North Yorkshire station.
It was understood the pilot’s vision suddenly became so limited during a routine solo training sortie that 100 Squadron commanders considered asking him to eject into the North Sea as they viewed the chances of him being able to land safely as slim.
Concerns over the pilot sustaining ejection injuries and the loss of the Hawk - which cost about £30m at the time - led to a senior pilot responsible for the training of joint terminal attack controllers being dispatched from the airfield in an attempt to talk him down and "act as the blind pilot's eyes".
An RAF spokesman said at the time: "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."
Also that week, The Northern Echo launched a petition to force a debate in Parliament on the crippling cuts that threaten the fabric of life in Darlington.
Darlington’s iconic Victorian indoor market is under threat in this latest round of crippling cuts
The Northern Echo’s report on the cuts to Darlington town centre
Over 3,000 people had added their name to the campaign at the time that aimed to save the historic market town, some of its most beloved buildings and key services.
The proposed cuts affected not only the most vulnerable, but would impact on every corner of the borough and every sector of society.
Social services, health, street cleaning, children’s centres and even grass cutting were among the services to be hit hardest.
Some of the town’s most iconic buildings, including the Victorian Covered Market and Central Library faced closure unless a fairer deal could be reached.
Returning to the skies, a glider pilot narrowly avoided colliding with a military jet with a maximum speed of 1,450mph - after mistaking it for a buzzard.
A common buzzard and a tornado jet with its afterburners on
The Northern Echo’s report on the buzzard story
The pilot of a Tornado which was descending in formation with another fighter plane towards RAF Leeming, near Bedale, was forced to perform an outside loop aerobatic manoeuvre as he passed below the glider by between 100ft and 300ft at Low Ellington, north-east of Masham.
It was unclear why the glider pilot initially believed the Tornado, which are capable of low-level supersonic flight and carrying Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile and cannons capable of firing 1,700 rounds a minute for the bird of prey, which typically weighs about 500g, has a 110cm wingspan and can reach speeds of just 25mph.
An investigation for the UK Airprox Board into the incident found the glider pilot had been on a cross-country flight and visibility was excellent as he decided to fly north.
The glider pilot, who has not been named, said the time between sighting the Tornados and their closest point to his aircraft was only one or two seconds.
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