Tim Thorn Air Commodore Timothy Gane Thorn AFC FRAeS , often known as Tim Thorn and nicknamed " Tiger " , is a retired member of the Royal Air Force and up to January 2010 was a pilot and flying instructor at 6 Air Experience Flight at RAF Benson , Oxfordshire . Thorn was born in Atbara , Sudan during World War II and attended Ipswich School from 1953 to 1961 . Just after leaving school he represented Suffolk in the Minor Counties cricket competition as an ' opening ' fast bowler . He entered the Royal Air Force College Cranwell as a Flight Cadet in September 1961 . He graduated with his pilot wings in 1964 and on completion of the Advanced Flying Training he was selected to become a flying instructor staight out of training . He represented the RAF at Rugby and played for Blackheath Rugby Club . In May 1966 , Thorn ejected from his aircraft following a mid - air collision with 4 other aircraft in which two aircraft crashed on to the outskirts of Nottingham . Thorn represented Great Britain in the bobsleigh at the 1968 Winter Olympics , Grenoble , France . At the European Championships just prior to the Olympics he won a ' Bronze Medal ' . On completion of his flying instructors tour he started his succession of Fighter Squadron tours commencing January 1968 . Four Hawker Hunter tours followed : No 8 Squadron based at RAF Muharraq , Bahrain ( 1968 – 69 ) , No 4 Squadron and No II ( AC ) Squadron based at RAF Gutersloh , Germany ( 1969 – 71 ) and No 234 Squadron based at RAF Chivenor , SW England , where he graduated from the Pilot Attack Instructors Course . Promoted to Squadron Leader in July 1972 , having turned down the opportunity to become a Queen ' s Equerry , he was seconded to the British Army and joined the Parachute Regiment with 16 Parachute Brigade where he completed over a hundred parachute descents . The tour was shortened to attend the Indian Defence Services Staff College , in South India for a year in 1975 . On completion of Staff College , a return to flying duties on the new single - seat Jaguar aircraft followed , first as a Deputy OC No 41 ( F ) Sqn based at RAF Coltishall , where he was awarded the Queen ' s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air ( QCVSA ) . Promoted to Wing Commander in July 1979 , he completed the 6 - month Air Warfare Course at the RAF College , Cranwell , before taking command of No II ( AC ) Squadron in 1980 , flying the Jaguar at RAF Laarbruch . He was awarded the Air Force Cross in December 1982 . In January 1983 he handed over command of No II ( AC ) Squadron to Wing Commander Hoare . He was posted to the Operations Directorate in the Ministry of Defence with responsibility for future RAF air to ground weapons which included the development of a new nuclear weapon . In 1985 he was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society ( FRAeS ) . He was promoted to Group Captain and was appointed Station Commander , RAF Cranwell in September 1987 before being succeeded by Group Captain T E L Jarron . Thorn next held an appointment at the Training Command HQ before attending the Royal College of Defence Studies ( RCDS ) in London during the year 1990 . During the year ' s course he was promoted to Air Commodore and at the end of the course was appointed the Senior Air Staff Officer ( SASO ) at HQ RAF Germany in January 1991 . He held this post until March 1991 when he became the first Air Commodore to be appointed the Commandant - General of the RAF Regiment whilst holding the post of Director of Fire Services . and Head of the RAF Strike Command Provost Branch . He is renowned for his ' 9 lives ' after surving 10 major airborne emergencies : 8 July 1965 - Jet Provost ( XX549 ) . With Flying Officer E Hempson Flamed - Out ( jet engine stopped ) . Landed safely at RAF Little Rissington . 26 May 1966 - Jet Provost . With Pilot Officer M Sedman ( student ) ejected after mid - air collision with 4 aircraft in formation near Nottingham . 28 September 1967 - Jet Provost . With Pilot Officer Mussett ( Student ) landed with only 2 wheels locked down . 12 February 1969 - Hunter FR ( 10 ) ( XE599 ) . Landed with no nose under - carriage at Bahrain Airport . 27 May 1969 - Hunter FR ( 10 ) ( XF436 ) . Aircraft caught fire after take - off . Force landed with no engine . 28 July 1969 - Hunter FR ( 10 ) ( XF441 ) . Only one wing fuel tank fed . Safe emergency landing . 11 May 1970 - Hunter FR ( 10 ) ( XF428 ) . Aircraft engine flamed - out ( Stopped ) 300 ft after take - off . Turned aircraft back towards runway for dead stick ( no engine ) landing . 24 May 1974 - Chipmunk ( WZ877 ) With Air Cadet , engine seized - Forced landed on golf course . 10 September 1974 - Schleswig - Holstein . Survived parachute descent with unopened parachute jumping from Hercules aircraft flying at 650 ft at night . 13 December 1997 - Bulldog ( XX639 ) with Air Cadet experienced a catastrophic engine failure at 350 ft after take - off . Turned aircraft back to force - land safely back on reciprocal runway . After he had prematurely retired from the RAF having achieved over 8 , 000 single seat flying hours and a total of 123 parachute descents , Thorn joined De Beers as the Head of Security for the Diamond Company with world wide responsibility . At the same time he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve ( Training ) Branch in December 1995 with the rank of flying officer . In December 1997 he was awarded a Green Endorsement for an instance of Exceptional Flying Skill and Judgement when flying with an Air Training Corps ( ATC ) cadet in a RAF Tutor aircraft he successfully completed a forced landing back on to the airfield from 350 feet after the engine had failed and the propellor stopped . He was promoted to the rank of Flight Lieutenant in 2003 . After 13 years service in the RAFVR he was awarded the Cadet medal in 2008 . In November 2000 , together with the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad he was heavily involved in successfully denying an attempt to steal £350 million display of De Beers diamonds ( the Millennium Star and 11 unique Blue Diamonds ) from the Millennium Dome , Greenwich , London . In 2005 , he retired from De Beers at the age of 60 years and formed his own Security Consultancy Company dealing with the Jewellery Retail Trade and Diamond / Gold Mines . Age policy . As a consequence of a change of RAF policy on the maximum age of RAF pilots he was forced to cease flying on 31 January 2010 but he continues to run his consultancy .