Joe in South Africa during his course at the 43 Air School where he experienced night flying, instrument flying, and even aerobatics
A motorcyclist, left partly paralyzed in a road accident, has realized his dream of qualifying as an airline pilot.
Joe Knighton, 33, started his love affair with flying when he was just 13 and soon decided he wanted a career within the RAF.
Aged 17 he secured a scholarship with the Air Force and looked set to reach his goal when he landed a place at Loughborough University to study engineering.
But disaster struck in May 1998, when a car pulled out in front of his motorbike at a junction.
The collision - of which he remembers little - left Mr Knighton with a broken neck and partially paralyzed.
The brave teenager spent half of the following year in hospital and was confined to a wheelchair for three months.
He did eventually get back on his feet but had limited movement in his right hand and leg.
But he refused to be beaten and continued to pursue his dream which he realized last month by becoming a fully-qualified pilot.
He can now fly as a first officer on virtually any aircraft and is also qualified to instruct others.
Mr Knighton, who refuses to let his disability get in the way of his hobbies, also enjoys skiing, cycling and horse riding.
The pilot lives who with his wife Emma, 33, and their five-month-old son Zebedee in Bristol hopes his story can inspire other people with disabilities.
He said: 'I just refused to accept what had happened and got on with things. I decided I would not accept there was anything I couldn't do.
'The hospital didn't like my attitude but it's the fire inside that gets you out there and doing things.
'In the early days the thought that I wouldn't walk again did cross my mind, but I dealt with it in stages.
'I had a blatant refusal to believe that my condition would prevent me from doing anything'.
While still undergoing rehabilitation, he successfully applied for Royal International Air Tattoo Flying Scholarship for the Disabled.
He was then awarded a 40-hour, six-week scholarship at 43 Air School in South Africa where he went in 1999 and experienced night flying, instrument flying, and even aerobatics.
However during his stay he hit a brick wall. While his private license was fine, the South African authorities removed his medical certificate because of his disability preventing him from flying commercial planes meaning he had to return to the UK.
He said: 'They just hadn't come across this situation before. They knew I could fly and passed every test they could throw at me but because they just didn't know what to do they suspended my medical certificate.
'It was disastrous because the wheels turn so slowly out there. With no medical I had no work permit and without a permit I had no money so I ended up having to come home'.
On his return to the UK in 2005, he got a sales job at Enham Direct, a company promoting choice, control and independence for disabled people, before taking a job with a specialist recruitment consultancy.
Two year later he met Emma, who had visited him to rent a room in his home when she moved to Bristol - they married two years later.
Thankfully when he returned to flying he met none of the barriers he faced in South Africa regarding his license.
However he had to sell his beloved white Porsche 911 Carrera convertible which featured in the couple's wedding to cover the costs required for his return to flying.
He quickly gained his commercial pilot's license followed by his instructor's qualification, a multi-instrument.
The pilot who is apparently more comfortable in the air than on the ground has also taken a night flying course and he is looking forward to his multi-crew course on a 737 simulator next month.
The next step is perhaps the biggest - finding a job in a profession that like so many others is feeling the force of the recession.
'I would really enjoy teaching aerobatics,' he said.
'When I did my scholarship with the RAF the first 20 hours is learning how to fly and then it's straight into aerobatic flying because it leads neatly into combat fighting.
'I would love to instruct but to be honest my dream job would be one that gets me off the ground every day'.
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