Find out why the pilot of a Bristol Britannia was forced to attempt a daring emergency landing on the Severn Estuary and how, seventy years ago this February, his bravery and skill saved the lives of everyone on board.

On the 4th February, 70 years ago, a Britannia pilot was forced to attempt a daring emergency landing on the Severn Estuary. It was because of his bravery and skill that all on board survived.

The second Britannia prototype was on a demo flight over Wales, carrying senior Bristol executives and representatives from KLM when disaster struck. On the flight back to Filton, one of the engines on the right hand side had an engine fire, so the other right-hand engine was shut down as a precaution. A short circuit caused by the fire then caused the other two engines to cut out.

Legendary Captain, Bill Pegg and his very skilled flight crew managed to get the engines on the left-hand side restarted. Not knowing if they’d make it all the way back to Filton, Pegg decided to immediately land on the banks of the Severn, close to where the original Severn Bridge stands today.

Them getting out of the plane: He brought the Britannia down safely on her belly. The fire was out and everyone on board waded across the mud to the safety of the nearby brickworks.

The plan for the stranded aircraft was to put flotation bags underneath and float it down to Avonmouth Docks. However, the Severn Estuary’s fast moving tide meant the aircraft was submerged within a few hours. The Britannia prototype was cut up in order to be removed and the nose now resides in Aerospace Bristol’s in Heritage Hangar.

Amy Seadon, Head of Collections, Learning and Interpretation said: “We are delighted to enhance our Britannia exhibition with the story of the ‘Miracle on the Severn.’ This area of the museum explores the aircraft’s role in the golden era of flight and visitors will be able to view the Britannia from a different perspective.

The Whispering Giant was an amazing piece of engineering, being the world’s largest turbo-prop airliner of its time, and this half term visitors will be able to delve into its history through daily spotlight talks and create their very own airliner.”

For more information visit aerospacebristol.org/february-half-term

Alongside ‘Miracle on the Severn’, Aerospace Bristol has also announced a packed spring programme of events and activities, including Mother’s Day lunch under Concorde, a new BA Uniform exhibition for the Easter Holidays, a May half term celebrating Bristol Cars and a Father’s Day Car Show.

Aerospace Bristol to tell the story of 'the Miracle on the Severn' this February half-term