THIS is the moment a plane spotter missed his shot when his hat was blown off by a low-flying F-35 fighter jet.
Weobley dad-of-two Tom Pennington, 50, captured the hilarious ‘one-in-a-million’ snap while photographing the Mach Loop low-level training drill in North Wales.
The F-35 – which has a dizzying top speed of 1,200mph – roared overheard taking a group of plane spotters by surprise.
Ambulance technician Mr Pennington pictured the scene during the US Air Force military exercise on May 12.
He said: “I’d been photographing wildlife for a few days and had got chatting to another amateur photographer who was there for the Mach Loop.
“You can never predict when the jets will fly overheard. The saying goes that to capture the planes you turn up early and stay late.
“I’d been there for a few hours when there was a rumble and suddenly out of nowhere this F-35 roared past.
“It was going so fast and was only about 400ft off the ground. I didn’t really know what pictures, if any, I had until I checked my camera.
“I was astonished to see that one of the photographer’s had missed the jet going overheard because the force of it had knocked his hat off.”
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Since he posted the image on social media, the snap has been viewed and shared thousands of times.
Mr Pennington said: “I’ve been very surprised by the reaction to the picture. So many people have seen it.
“I have no idea who he is but I’d like to send him a copy of the photograph.
“It’s one of those moments which is pretty much ‘one-in-a-million’ but when it happens you’re glad you had your camera pointed at it.”
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