Leonard T. Koonce 
Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, also an experienced airline pilot, recently recalled one of his most memorable flights when he brought Royal Air Force troops home from Afghanistan.
The musician told the moving story during his February 19 spoken word show at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Missouri, as part of English artist’s ongoing An Evening With Bruce Dickinson 2022 tour, which is currently touring the United States and Canada. To see the remaining tour dates and get tickets here.
Dickinson said: “One of the jobs we had at the airline I worked for, we had a plane permanently assigned to the military to go and take people. Not to wars, but we took them to bases .Sometimes we flew people back.” (via Blabbermouth)
“We flew in people who were in Afghanistan … who went to war,” the rocker continued. “They would go somewhere for two or three weeks to try to rehabilitate and then we would bring them back. One particular flight, we were flying the Royal Air Force Regiment, which are soldiers in the field. … It was an unusual flight because we were taking them back to their real home base, not to a military airfield.”
Dickinson added: “They had casualties and they had lost people. But they were all really happy, the best passengers you could ever have in the army. … As we came ashore we stopped and we We blew up the counter thrust. I had a co-pilot, first officer. We were looking out, and right by the runway were families, children – all the families and the women and all the soldiers. They were all [holding signs saying], “You are my hero, Dad” and everything in between. It was very moving. In fact, we had to stop the plane because my co-pilot was boiling. …we were both trying not to [cry].”
The Iron Maiden singer has done a lot as an aviator, including flying the veteran metal band’s Ed Force One airliner and working as a commercial pilot for defunct charter company Astraeus Airlines. But perhaps nothing could have prepared him for this flight.
“I went, ‘OK, we’ll stop. We’ll blow our noses, make sure we can see where we’re going, and then get the job done,'” Dickinson recalled. “It’s really exceptional. The last thing you want to do is say, ‘It was so emotional, we ended up in a fucking ditch.’ So we dropped them off and that was it. It was one of the most memorable flights.”
Dickinson, a cancer survivor, shared a lot during those engagements. He recently named his favorite singer, guessed Maiden’s most underrated song and revealed ideas for a new solo album. In January, he spoke to Loudwire about his plans for 2022.
Last year, Iron Maiden released their 17th studio album, senjutsu. It contains the singles “The Writing on the Wall” and “Stratego”. The band’s Legacy of the Beast world tour resumes this fall.
Watch Dickinson tell his story with the Royal Air Force below.
Bruce Dickinson recalls memorable flight with British soldiers – February 19, 2022
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