Accident Occurred At Bournemouth Air Festival 2011

A RAF Red Arrows aircraft has gone down in the midst of a Saturday afternoon airshow at the Bournemouth (UK) Air Festival. The nine-ship military formation aerobatic team was in the midst of concluding a public demonstration flight when one aircraft apparently separated from the formation and impacted the ground close to the nearby Stour river.

UK Media reports that Flt Lt Jon Egging, 33, is believed to have died after attempting an ejection following some mode of aircraft systems failure. Flt Lt Egging was a resident of Rutland, Lincs, and was reportedly the first Red Arrows pilot to lost in such an accident in some 33 years. Egging was flying under the call sign RED4 when the accident took place -- he was the song of an airline pilot The son of an airline pilot, joined RAF in 2000 and flew Harriers (including some time in the Afghan conflict) prior to the Red Arrows assignment. 

Current information suggests that the accident occurred after Egging separated from the rest of the formation and appears to have flown low but under control (lending some suspicion to early theories of power failure) toward an open field where the aircraft impacted and broke up, coming to rest on a river bank. Rescuers reportedly found the pilot severely injured, but still alive at that time, though reports indicate that he has since succumbed to his injuries.

Eyewitness Shaun Spencer-Perkins told The Telegraph that, "I heard a rushing sound and I saw a plane about 50 ft above the ground racing across the fields. It impacted and bounced across the field, made it across the river about 100 yards away from where we were. We ran into the field following the debris trail to the point of impact... There were huge black marks and the horrendous smell of aviation fuel."

The Telegraph quotes another eyewitness, Nick Woods, "It came in so low across the field. I could see it was in trouble...
"I just shouted 'Everybody inside!' because I didn't know how far it would spread when it crashed. The next moment my friend Finlay shouted 'He's down!' It just sounded like an explosion when it hit – no flames but a huge ripping sound. I saw debris flying in the air.

 
"Finlay and I ran across the field. The Red Arrow was on the bank. We jumped into the water, found the ejector seat, pulled it up, but it was clean – no-one in it. I swam across the river and saw the parachute, and that's where I found him. He was near a steep bank, in deep water. He was very badly injured, dead. I was pretty shaken. Then a female police officer and a search and rescue guy appeared."

Red Arrows documentation states that they, "...have always flown whichever aircraft is in service as the Royal Air Force’s advanced fast jet trainer; currently the BAE SYSTEMS Hawk T1. From 1965 until 1979 the Red Arrows flew the Folland Gnat, the Hawk’s predecessor. The idea of utilizing front line operational aircraft for formation aerobatic display teams was dropped in the early 1960s on the grounds of cost."

The Red Arrows have been flying as a military formation team since 1965 and have logged well over 43000 public demonstrations. The Red Arrows site notes that, "The Red Arrows’ reputation is built on the commitment and professionalism, combined with Royal Air Force skills, training and equipment. Many of the Red Arrows’ pilots and support staff have recently returned from Afghanistan and Iraq and many will be temporarily detached on operations overseas during their time with the Red Arrows."

More info to come when available...

FMI: www.raf.mod.uk/reds