Studying mechanical engineering, Holden also learnt to fly on the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane.

Holden pursued an engineering career with the RAF who qualified him with pilot wings after training on the Harvard.

For Lightning flights, Holden had to locate RAF test pilots with a current rating who could usually be found within 24 to 36 hours.

Holden was to communicate by hand signals with his support crew on a Land Rover, which would coordinate the next test with the control tower.

Once the afterburner was engaged, disengaging it required pushing the gate keys behind the throttle, which Holden was inexperienced in operating.

The Lightning gained speed quickly and just missed a fuel tanker that was crossing the runway in front of Holden.

This resulted in a tailstrike, the rubber tail bumper of the Lightning hitting the concrete, breaking, and detaching the cable of the drogue parachute used for assisting braking.

Braking hard, Holden managed to bring the Lightning to a stop about one hundred yards before the end of the runway.

[5] The electrical fault was determined to be caused by wires left in place from a deleted ground test button for the standby inverter, which shorted into the UHF radio which moved on its trunnions during the takeoff run.

[1][4] According to Holden, in a review before Air Marshal Kenneth Porter, he was asked whether he agreed that "With the limited flying experience I had, the test would have been better left to an experienced and current Lightning test pilot", which he answered in the affirmative, following which Porter related some of his own unfortunate flying incidents.