A FORMER Royal Air Force pilot has quit the cockpit and be-come a preacher after a near-fatal crash brought him closer to God.

Pastor Ian Ferguson was officially inducted as minister of the Grace Community Church, Oakenhurst Road, Black-burn, only six months after his retirement from the RAF.

Ian, 57, had been a member of the Royal Air Force for over 30 years, and he is certain that his survival of the crash was down to the "absolute power of God".

On January 7 1986, the Phantom FGR 2 XV 434 jet he was flying, along with navigator Steve Williams, crashed into Buckden Pike in the North Yorkshire Pennines after the flight controls failed to respond correctly.

Ian said, "I felt the aircraft change, it began to nosedive and it over-responded to any adjust-ment I tried to make."

The Phantom jet entered a 600mph nosedive, and Ian had only a split-second to decide his next move.

He was only 250ft from the ground when he pulled the ejection handle.

Ian said, "There's 3000lbs of dynamite under ejector seats and can go from 0 to 60mph in 0.3 seconds.

"It was like something out of a Hollywood movie.

"As I shot upwards, I could see the aircraft sliding away beneath my feet and crash into the side of the hill.

"I felt no real fear, there wasn't this feeling of life flashing before my eyes' because I knew God would carry me through, even if I died.

"They were only able to recover 400 bags of dust from the crash site."

The official RAF Aircraft Accident Report which was carried out in June of 1987, stated that "in the circumstances, the pilot had no realistic chance of recovering the aircraft."

Despite his serious injuries which included a broken left arm and broken right leg, Ian does not regret what happened and has used his exper-ience as a positive way to instill the Christian faith in others.

The crash cemented Ian's Christian beliefs and made him decide to begin train-ing to be a minister. He said: "It has opened up Christian contacts we would never have made and has brought many people closer to God."

Ian grew up in Bampton, Oxfordshire, near RAF base Brize Norton. He said: "Ever since I was 11 years old, I had always wanted to fly a Phantom.

"I tried and failed to join the RAF many times, I had a real inferiority complex and was a disaster in education.

"When I finally got my wings' in 1974, I knew that God had given me the gift to fly."

For details on the Church or their events call 01254 54541 or visit their website - see link below.