RAF pilot dismissedafter causing plane to nosedive

Terrified servicemen and woman on the aircraft flown by Flight Lieutenant Andrew Townshend, 49,(seen outside Bulford military court today) were 'pinned to the ceiling and thought they were going to die'

An RAF pilot who cost the Ministry of Defence millions of pounds when he caused a plane with 187 military personnel onboard to nosedive 4,400ft in seconds after his camera jammed with controls was today dismissed from the service.

Terrified servicemen and woman on the aircraft flown by Flight Lieutenant Andrew Townshend, 49, were 'pinned to the ceiling and thought they were going to die'.

The Voyager aircraft travelling from the UK to Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, was cruising at 33,000ft when it suddenly plummeted 4,400ft towards the Black Sea for 29 seconds.

As he was dismissed from the RAF, a court martial heard details of how the terrifying incident in February 2014 meant the Ministry of Defence was unable to use any of their Voyager aircraft for 13 days, because they were all grounded.

Bulford Military Court, Wilts, heard Flt Lt Townshend was 'bored' and 'practicing taking long-exposure photography when his co-pilot left the cockpit to get a cup of tea'.

Crew and passengers thought they were going to die when the Voyager aircraft plummeted 4,400ft in a matter of seconds - after the camera jammed the controls (pictured)

Flt Lt Nathan Jones (pictured) was able to wrestle back control of the nose-diving plane after crawling back to the cockpit on the aircraft's roof with a fractured back

His Nikon DSLR D3200 was positioned in between his seat's arm rest and the plane's side stick which controls movement - and when he moved his seat forward the stick was suddenly pushed forward, causing the dive.

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For 29 seconds terrified crew members feared for their lives until the pilot with nearly 30 years experience and co-pilot Flt Lt Nathan Jones wrestled with controls to retrieve control of it.

Giving evidence, Flt Lt Townshend said when he was told his camera caused the dive it was 'the worst day of his life'.

Flight Lieutenant Andrew Townshend pictured outside of Bulford Military Court

He added: 'I remember seeing an awful lot of ground in front of me which you don't see in planes and remember thinking 's**t, this is so bad'.

'I thought 'this is game over, I'm going to die in this seat'.

Townshend said he had a passion for star-gazing and had treated himself to the camera when his marriage had ended. 

After the incident Flt Lt Townshend, who earnt £56,000 a year in the RAF, 'deliberately deleted' photos before he appeared at a service enquiry as he thought it looked 'unprofessional'.

Today at Bulford Military Court, Flt Lt Townshend, who admitted negligently performing a duty, held his head in his hands as he was told he was dismissed from the RAF.

Flt Lt Townshend's camera jammed between his chair's armrest and the side-stick control unit, which works like a joystick. After Flt Lt Jones levelled the plane, they diverted to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey

The court heard the father-of-two's blunder cost the RAF 'millions' and the Voyager fleet was out of action for 13 days.

Prosecutor Nigel Lickley QC said it set the RAF back £827,000 in charter costs, £690,000 in revenue and £207,000 in repairs.

Judge Advocate Alan Large added the Ministry of Defence was subject to a £14 million contract with a company called Air Tanker, but could not use the planes during this period.

Also imposing a four month sentence suspended for 12 months, he said Flt Lt Townshend had taken his 'eye off the ball'.

Judge Advocate Large said: 'The responsibility of remaining alert and making sure nothing happens to affect the passengers was yours.

'When (co-pilot) Flight Lieutenant Nathan Jones was out of the cockpit you should have been more vigilant.

Service personnel on board the jet (pictured) were immediately flung out of their seats and 'pinned to the ceiling' and feared for their lives during the descent

The RAF board was shown this photo, taken by the pilot before his plane went into a nosedive. It shows the cockpit of the Voyager aircraft on February 9, 2014

'It's clear when you were alone in the cockpit nothing was happening and you failed to stay vigilant. You allowed a dangerous situation to happen when you moved your seat forward.

'This was not a momentary lapse in concentration, your eye was well off the ball.'

Flt Lt Townshend was accused of lying about knowing his camera was there when filing a tech-log and in front of a service enquiry, but was cleared of two counts of perjury and making a false record after a four-week trial.

While flying, he took photos of the views, controls inside the cockpit and in the four minutes before the sudden dive he took 28 photos.

During the nosedive, Flt Lt Townshend said 'f*****king hell, s***, Jesus Christ' and afterwards announced to passengers he 'was not sure' what caused it.

RAF PILOT WHO COMPETED IN PRINCE HARRY'S INVICTUS GAMES HEROICALLY SAVED PLANE

Flt Lt Jones, 34, pictured with Prince Harry at the 2016 Invictus Games

Flight Lieutenant Nathan Jones, 34, left the cockpit of the Voyager aircraft to make a cup of tea when the plane was sent into a 4,400 feet nosedive in 29 seconds. 

He was left with a fractured back, a prolapsed disc and nerve damage after the 2014 incident.

The co-pilot was pinned to the ceiling by the sudden dive and had to be extremely careful as he pulled back the controls for fear of 'snapping the wings off', the court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, heard. 

He will captain Great Britain at this year's Invictus Games in Canada - an event created by Prince Harry which sees injured servicemen and women from 17 allied nations compete against each other in a range of adaptive sports. 

In the 2016 games, he won a bronze medal in the 50m backstroke race. 

Amazingly, he recovered the aircraft from the dive by pulling back on the side stick - but did it gently as he was 'aware that if I pulled back hard it would most likely snap the wings off'.

He is still getting treatment today after undergoing surgery and other lengthy procedures, and has been medically downgraded since the incident.

The flight then had to land at an airbase in Turkey so passengers could receive treatment.

Mr Lickley said today: 'He was the captain of the aircraft and therefore had an overall responsibility of all 187 passengers and crew.

'He had been using the camera throughout the flight and significantly when he was alone in the cockpit as the co-pilot had left he was using his camera to take 28 images in the four minutes leading up to it.

'According to a captain who the court has heard evidence from, when a captain is alone in the cockpit they should be focusing on the flight and controls solely.

'Passengers and crew felt weightlessness and feared for their lives. The welfare of the crew and passengers was put at risk by Flt Lt Townshend.' 

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