Iron Maiden lead singer pilots rescue flights

Bruce Dickinson, lead singer from Iron Maiden, was the pilot on two of rescue flights organised to bring stranded XL passengers back home to Britain.

Better known for his heavy metals hits “Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter” and “Run to the Hills,” Dickinson is also a licensed commercial pilot, and lent a hand to fly marooned holidaymakers back to the UK from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and the island of Kos, in Greece.

Dickinson, who is now 50, qualified in the 1990s as a pilot. He worked for the Astraeus charter operation, which is no longer operates regular flight services, but leases its planes world-wide.

An Astraeus spokesperson noted that Dickinson was a full-time member of its staff for the past seven years, and has been the pilot regularly on services to Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

“The roster meant that Bruce Dickinson was on holiday when this was going on,” the spokesman added. “After XL went bump it just so happened that Bruce, being on holiday, was available and other cabin crew were brought in as well for the flight.”

Iron Maiden has its own Boeing 757 for tours. The airplane is called “Ed Force One,” after the group’s mascot Eddie, and is piloted by Dickinson.

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