Jamie Hull - Former Army Reservist

Jamie Hull was training to be a pilot when his engine caught fire during a training flight. With his cock-pit on fire and his plane rapidly descending towards the ground, he knew that saving his own life required clamness of thought, swiftness of action, incredible bavery and a lot of luck. After 50 operations to recover from his life-changing injuries he is still here to tell the story. His incredible story should not be missed.

Jamie recently competed in the Invictus Games cycling in the bike time trial and circuit race.

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Jamie Hull, a former army reservist, was thirty-two years old when his life changed forever.

In the summer of 2007 while in America, during a routine solo flight training for his Private Pilot's license, he noticed through his cockpit window a thin streak of flame coming from the aircraft's engine.

Recognising the immediate danger, he attempted to bring the small aircraft down for an emergency landing. His efforts were futile as the flames engulfed his two-person cockpit with him only wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

Knowing that certain death awaited him Jamie had to act. It was a quite extraordinary moment of calmness that allowed the clarity of thought to conjure up the only possible escape in the circumstances.

Jamie freed himself from the cockpit and clambered to the wing where he stood until the aircraft was only twenty feet from the floor, with the plane descending rapidly. At that point he jumped.

The plane crashed and exploded only sixty feet from him. With the previously heightened physical state and adrenaline diminishing, the pain hit him with unimaginable weight. They say that fortune favours the brave and Jamie certainly was both fortunate and brave, as he was saved by a near-by American citizen who was able to call the paramedics. Without this instant treatment there was no chance of Jamie surviving.

Jamie sustained a total of sixty percent third-degree burn to his body and remained in intensive care for 6 months in America and an induced coma for a further 6 months in the UK. Further to his extreme burns he endured renal failure, had to undergo kidney dialysis, as well as suffering from pneumonia and septicaemia.

Jamie has undergone over 50 operations since the incident, an accident which doctors believed left him with a 5% chance of survival. Through extraordinary mental strength and determination Jamie has gone a long way to re-building his life. The manner in which he has approached life since the accident is a shining example of dealing with adversity. 

His story and incredible strength of character are an inspiration to all audiences who hear him speak. By speaking to people about his life, the accident and the horrendous fight back to normality Jamie aims to inspire confidence and energy in the audience.

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