Pop legend Sir Elton John found himself at the centre of a dramatic aviation scare towards the end of last month, when his private aircraft was forced into an extremely rare and unorthodox manoeuvre just moments before takeoff. The 78-year-old music icon, along with his family, was safely aboard his Boeing 737 at Farnborough Airport, bound for Paris, when the perilous situation unfolded.
"Dodging a Bullet": The Critical Decision at V1 Speed
Pilot Duncan Gillespie, a seasoned aviator with extensive experience flying Sir Elton globally, was accelerating down the runway when he spotted imminent danger. As the aircraft reached V1 speed—the critical 160mph point beyond which aborting takeoff becomes unsafe—Gillespie observed what he described as a "huge bird of prey" diving directly towards the plane.
In a detailed account shared on his Facebook page, Gillespie explained the split-second judgment call he was forced to make. "Taking off with a 25 knot crosswind, we were just passing our V1 decision speed, after which I’m obliged to take off, when I saw a huge hawk diving at us," he recounted. "There were two of them, I think he was protecting his mate."
An Unprecedented Aviation Maneuver
Faced with this extraordinary threat, Gillespie opted for what he termed a "very unorthodox procedure." For the first time in his flying career, he deliberately delayed rotating the aircraft to become airborne, instead choosing to pass underneath the diving bird. This unconventional decision directly contravened standard aviation protocols at V1 speed, where pilots are typically committed to taking off.
"My colleague and I were both of the clear opinion that if we’d have rotated when we should have, we’d have taken the hawk through the left-hand engine," Gillespie stated, emphasising that this was the only viable option to prevent what could have been a catastrophic bird strike.
Averting a Multi-Million Dollar Disaster
The pilot expressed confidence that his human judgment—something he believes no machine could replicate—prevented a major incident. "We dodged a bullet yesterday, with the original Rocket Man and his family on board," Gillespie declared, referencing Sir Elton's famous song. He estimated that his quick thinking saved millions of dollars in potential damages, not to mention avoiding a potentially disastrous outcome for all aboard.
This incident highlights the unpredictable challenges that even experienced pilots face, particularly when wildlife interacts with aviation operations. The proximity to Farnborough Airport's runway and the aggressive behaviour of the protective hawk created a perfect storm of risk that required immediate, unconventional action.
Not Sir Elton's First Aviation Scare
Remarkably, this is not the first time Sir Elton John has been involved in a concerning aviation situation. In 2022, his private jet was forced to make an emergency landing after suffering a hydraulic failure at 10,000 feet. That incident required multiple landing attempts amid terrible weather conditions, with emergency services placed on standby as the aircraft struggled to touch down safely.
An eyewitness to that earlier event described the harrowing scene: "The jet was being buffeted and couldn’t land. It was horrible to see!" The plane eventually landed safely on its third attempt, but not before giving those aboard and on the ground a considerable fright.
The latest incident at Farnborough demonstrates how even routine flights for high-profile individuals can suddenly become anything but routine, relying on pilot expertise and decisive action to ensure safety remains paramount above all standard procedures.
