Two Killed, Glider Pilot Parachutes Safely

An RAF pilot and a British military cadet were killed Sunday when their two place Grob Tutor collided with a civilian glider in flight. Both aircraft fell to the ground, but the pilot of the glider managed to parachute safely following the incident.

A Ministry of Defense statement said: "An RAF Grob Tutor aircraft has crashed following a suspected mid-air collision with a civilian glider at around 1400 (1300 GMT) today, June 14, 2009."

It added: "We can confirm that the pilot and passenger were killed. The pilot was RAF and the passenger a CCF (combined cadet force) cadet."

Witnesses told the London Mirror that the glider pilot appeared to be thrown from his German-made Cirrus glider by the collision, and he was able to use his parachute to escape injury. The glider pilot, who did not want to give his name to the press, told the paper he did not think the pilot of the RAF trainer had seen him.

The Combined Cadet Force is a youth organization mainly for high school students, which according to its website is run along military lines, and "aims to teach practical skills which are not covered within other subjects at school."

Britain's Ministry of Defense says it will conduct a complete investigation into the incident, but said it is too early to determine the cause of the collision.

FMI: http://www.clsb.org.uk/combined-cadet-force/, www.mod.uk