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A retired RAF pilot was hailed a hero today after he wrestled a bomber away from a crowd of spectators and houses when the giant aircraft accidentally took off at an air show. The giant Victor bomber - named Teasin' Tina - was only supposed to taxi down the runway and stop for a photoshoot before returning to the hangar. But the bungling 'co-pilot' - an engineer with no flying experience - hit the throttle by mistake and the 75-tonne bomber lurched 150 feet into the air. Stunned pilot Bob Prothero, 70, grabbed the controls as the Victor bomber veered off the runway and climbed into the air on a collision course with the crowd and a nearby housing estate. Quick-thinking Mr Prothero, who last flew a Victor in the 1980s and whose flying licence has long expired, took the controls and wrestled the gigantic plane to safety. It landed in a field at the end of a runway without a single casualty or scratch to the aircraft.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) launched an investigation into the incident at the Cold War Jets day at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome, near Lutterworth, Leicestershire, on May 3. A report later blamed the co-pilot, who has not been named, saying he 'froze' under pressure and forgot to hit the brakes.
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