Originally Posted by
atb1943
The excitement of the occasion increased a few days later with the arrival of the An-22 ostensibly with a replacement engine for the one that went kaputt on the 124. John Blake drew me a doodle of the An-22's sideways touchdown for my visitor's book, which I managed to 'retain' but can't put my finger on right now.
As the '124 started his takeoff roll on the first day after the usual 8 min on the runway winding up to takeoff power, it unexpectedly began to slow down again. What we didn't hear or see from the tower was the bang and flames caused by a compressor surge.
The AN 22 arrived on the wednesday I think with a replacement engine. Its sideways landing was, we concluded, due to the fact he lined up on the dayglo display line markers thinking they were the runway and only realised his mistake as he passed over the tower where I was outside on the balcony. The tyre marks indicated he touched town just off the left side of the runway on a taxiway turnoff and went over a bit of grass before regaining the paved surface. An MOD policeman stood next to me filming with a video camera and gave ATC a couple of copies which were still in our archive when I retired.