Footage shows military plane accidentally taking off in pure unthinkable moment after acceleration error
Published on Feb 24, 2026 at 10:18 AM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Feb 24, 2026 at 2:10 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Footage has shown an XM715 military plane doing something it was never meant to do.
What started as a controlled runway test turned into a split-second crisis.
Within moments, a Cold War bomber was airborne without clearance.
And the pilot had to decide whether to climb or force it back down.
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The acceleration error that sent the Victor military plane into the air
In 2007, at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire, England, crews were performing a planned high-speed taxi run in the Handley Page Victor XM715.
The exercise was straightforward: bring the engines up close to take-off power, accelerate to 100 knots, then close the throttles and stop.
According to former RAF pilot Bill Ramsey, who was in the left seat, the briefing was clear from the start.
“We were briefed only to go up to 100 knots, and then we would close the throttles and slow down and stop,” he told Loop TV Magazine.
However, as the aircraft surged forward and passed around 80-90 knots, Ramsey told the co-pilot to close the throttles.
“He froze,” Ramsey said. “We just kept going.”
That hesitation changed everything.
With the engines already near take-off power, the Victor accelerated harder than expected.
At roughly 100 knots, the nose lifted.
Seconds later, the massive 1950s bomber was airborne.
At that point, Ramsey was fully committed.
Instead of climbing away, he kept the aircraft extremely low – around 20-30 feet above the runway – fighting the instinct to pull back.
He knew that drifting off the center line or stalling would mean crashing onto the grass.
“If the aircraft were to stall, we would just crash wherever we were,” he explained.
Fortunately, more than half the runway remained.
Ramsey eased the Victor back down before the threshold, bringing it safely onto the tarmac.
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The unintended final flight of XM715
The Victor was never cleared to fly that day.
The hop was accidental, unscheduled, and never meant to happen.
Yet in a strange twist, those few seconds in the air effectively became XM715’s final flight.
Ramsey later described how he had to remove his left hand from the control column – which was holding the aircraft on the ground – move it to the throttles, and close them himself.
All while managing a crosswind that was already pushing the bomber off centerline.
It was controlled, but only just.
What was meant to be a ground run became an unexpected farewell for the military plane.
A Cold War bomber rising into the air one final time by instinct, and experience bringing it safely home.
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With roles at TEXT Journal, Bowen Street Press, Onya Magazine, and Swine Magazine on her CV, Molly joined Supercar Blondie in June 2025 as a Junior Content Writer. Having experience across copyediting, proofreading, reference checking, and production, she brings accuracy, clarity, and audience focus to her stories spanning automotive, tech, and lifestyle news.
