Eric Carter, who flew Spitfires and Hurricanes in combat in World War Two, was recently denied the permission to climb into the cockpit of a Spitfire by the authorities of the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent because the cockpit paint had traces of radioactive material and no proper seat installed.
The museum officials decided they could not take the risk of allowing 91-year-old M. Carter to climb aboard the stationary Spitfire as the risk of an injury or long-term consequences of the radioactive exposure.
The former RAF pilot took it with humour and said “You couldn’t make it up. I used to fly those things every day fighting the Germans. Now that really was a health and safety concern, let me tell you! I just wish the Luftwaffe had been so caring.”
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