DFC til Flight Lieutenant Dan Cullen

Helicopter hero who saved 30 soldiers by flying one-handed awarded one of RAF's highest honours

• Flight Lieutenant Dan Cullen, 31, has received the Distinguished Flying Cross

By Christopher Leake
PUBLISHED: 22:06 GMT, 24 March 2012 | UPDATED: 05:26 GMT, 25 March 2012

A pilot who saved the lives of 30 British soldiers by flying his helicopter one-handed has been awarded one of the RAF’s highest honours.

Flight Lieutenant Dan Cullen’s Chinook was flying at 115mph just 50ft above the ground when his co-pilot – who had been shot by the Taliban – lost consciousness and slumped forward on to his controls.

As the helicopter plummeted to the ground, Flt Lieut Cullen, who is nicknamed 'Dan Dare' by his comrades, pulled his co-pilot upright with one hand while fighting to regain control of the aircraft with the other.

Courage: Flight Lieutenant Dan Cullen, who saved the lives of 30 British soldiers by flying his helicopter one-handed, has been honoured by the RAF

For his skill and courage he has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross – the RAF’s second-highest award.

The drama began when Flt Lieut Cullen, a veteran of five tours of Afghanistan, was sent to pick up troops who had been clearing a Taliban bomb factory in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. As the soldiers sprinted to his Chinook, Taliban insurgents opened fire.

Flt Lieut Cullen, 31, of 18(B) Squadron based at RAF Odiham, Hampshire, heard a bang and felt a bullet pass inches behind him.

Another shot punched a hole in the cockpit window and wounded his co-pilot.
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