Jim Meads’ Masterpiece: The Story Behind the 1962 Photo of the Year

This is truly one of the most astonishing moments ever captured in aviation history. The sheer improbability of the photographer, Jim Meads, being in the exact right place at the exact right time, with his camera ready and focused, is almost as incredible as the event itself.

What always stands out in this image, aside from the terrifying, nose-down plunge of the P1B English Electric Lightning XG332, is the surreal contrast with the foreground. The man on the Fordson tractor, a groundsman named Mick Sutterby, appears almost casually observant. In reality, he had just heard the explosive bang of the ejection seat firing and whipped his head around to see a supersonic interceptor falling out of the sky right into his line of sight.

The fact that test pilot George Aird survived this is a testament to the life-saving engineering of Martin-Baker ejection seats. Ejecting at such an incredibly low altitude, and with the aircraft pitched nose-down, usually leaves the parachute absolutely no time to deploy properly. Crashing through the glass roof of that tomato greenhouse undoubtedly helped break his fall and save his life. Breaking both legs is a brutal injury, but his return to flying Lightnings within just a year speaks volumes about the sheer resilience and nerve of Cold War-era test pilots.