Hazard Spectrum - by Nathan Gray (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

'Nerve-shattering, enlightening and deeply moving' - JOHN NICHOL

'A powerful and compelling read' - ROWLAND WHITE

On 5 December 2002, trainee pilot Nathan Gray walked away from an 'unsurvivable' crash at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire. His instructor, seated behind him, was killed instantly. Despite the physical pain and mental scars, he found the strength and resilience to continue his flying career. Today Commander Nathan Gray is one of the UK's elite test pilots - the best of the best.

Hazard Spectrum allows us to share Nathan's dizzying journey to the top of the Fleet Air Arm. With over 140 combat missions to his name, he is among the most decorated pilots in the British armed forces - our very own Maverick. In an exhilarating first-person narrative, Nathan takes us inside the cockpit as he holds Taliban fighters at bay in Afghanistan, and leads a top-secret mission to seek out Osama Bin Laden in the mountains of the Hindu Kush.

In 2018, Nathan was chosen to complete the first take-off and landing of the world's most advanced fighter aircraft - the F35 stealth jet - on the flight deck of the flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth. A television audience of millions held its collective breath as he geared up for the task.

This is the inspiring and unforgettable story of a man with a supreme ability to fly the most sophisticated and deadly planes ever created, who overcomes his personal demons to push the hazard spectrum to the limit - and beyond.

From the Back Cover

On 5 December 2002, trainee pilot Nathan Gray walked away from an 'unsurvivable' crash at RAF Wittering. His instructor, seated behind him, was killed instantly. Despite the physical pain and mental scars, he found the strength to continue his flying career. Today Commander Nathan Gray is one of the UK's elite and most decorated test pilots.

Hazard Spectrum is Nathan's dizzying journey to the top of the Fleet Air Arm, taking us inside the cockpit as he holds Taliban fighters at bay, leads a top-secret mission to seek out Osama Bin Laden, and completes the first take-off and landing of the world's most advanced fighter aircraft, the F35 stealth jet.

This is the unforgettable story of a man with a supreme ability to fly the most sophisticated and deadly planes ever created, who overcomes his personal demons to push the hazard spectrum to the limit - and beyond.

Review Quotes

Nerve-shattering, enlightening and deeply moving, Hazard Spectrum tells the story of a boy from the Potteries who ignored the so-called experts telling him that his aim to be a fighter pilot was just a dream. Nathan Gray scaled the highest reaches of military aviation and now, with this riveting account of fighting the war against terror, and his determination to confront the demons threatening to ground him, he pushes the flight envelope to the limit, and beyond

Hazard Spectrum is so packed with incident that it's hard to know where to begin. Flying the Harrier in combat, Nathan Gray took the fight to the enemy in ways the jump jet's designers could scarcely have imagined and, as a test pilot pushing the envelope of the fifth generation F-35 stealth fighter, overcame dire emergencies that could have killed him. But it's the human story that makes Gray's memoir so special. His remarkable career as a naval aviator seems both inspired by, and to pay tribute to, a fallen comrade who, in a terrible crash that Gray somehow walked away from, tragically lost his life. It all makes for a powerful and compelling read

About the Author

Nathan Gray is a highly experienced and decorated test and fighter pilot, who has flown with the Fleet Air Arm for over two decades. His stellar career has taken him from the war zones of the Middle East to the United States. He has also qualified as a commando green beret, paratrooper, and forward air controller. Nathan featured in the BBC series Britain's Biggest Warship.