A Red Arrows pilot died today when his stricken jet crashed after he made a dramatic attempt to steer it away from nearby houses.
Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging
Photo: MoD/PA
Flt Lt Jon Egging, 33, is believed to have tried to eject only after guiding the RAF jet towards a field as it apparently suffered a failure following an aerobatic display.
But he was killed when the jet plunged into a field near the river Stour, just outside Bournemouth.
Flt Lt Egging, who lived in Rutland, Lincs, with his wife Emma, was the first Red Arrows pilot to die in a crash for 33 years.
Flying under the call sign RED 4 he had suddenly peeled away from the other eight Red Arrows as they headed back to Bournemouth international airport after performing at the town's air festival.
The jet flew low over houses and other buildings before crashing into a field near the village of Throop, Dorset, bouncing several times and splitting into two mangled pieces.
Local people who rushed to the scene pulled his body out of the river about a mile from Bournemouth airport.
The tragedy happened after the RAF Aerobatic Team, better known as the Red Arrows, had given what one spectator described as a "dazzling" performance" at the Bournemouth air festival.
The RAF Hawks had painted pictures of love hearts in the sky with trails of pink smoke, between 12.30pm and 1.30pm.
The nine aircraft then left the area to fly over nearby Christchurch before returning to the airport. But only eight of them returned.
Nick Woods, 36, told how he discovered the pilot's body in the Stour.
Mr Woods was enjoying a barbecue with his family about 300 yards from the river. The dozen or so family and friends, including his parents and his three-year old son Archie, heard the roar of the jet at about 1.50pm.
"It came in so low across the field. I could see it was in trouble," he said.
"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."
Peter Male, whose brother owns the farmland where the jet crashed, said: "The jet was so low over the houses that the pilot must have been trying to crash land in the fields so he did not hit any of the buildings.
"He suffered terrible, terrible injuries."
Shaun Spencer-Perkins, who witnessed the crash from Throop Mill, where he was walking with his wife, said: "I heard a rushing sound and I saw a plane about 50ft 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," he said. "There were huge black marks and the horrendous smell of aviation fuel."
Darren Blakeman, who was watching the Red Arrows display, said: "When only eight of the airplanes landed after the display a big siren went off at the airport. A big yellow fire truck parked in the viewing area rushed off with its blue lights going.
"A police helicopter and a coastguard helicopter were hovering in the air above the site."
Susie Churchill, who lives less than 100 yards from where the aircraft crashed, said: "We see the Red Arrows fly over here every years, so we are all in quite a state of shock," she said.
The Red Arrows were due to fly on every day of the four-day Bournemouth Air Festival, which attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators, and finishes today.
Organisers had been forced to cancel daytime flying displays on Thursday due to bad weather which had caused flash flooding earlier in the week. They said events would continue as scheduled.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We can confirm that we are aware of an incident involving one of the Red Arrows and we are investigating."
The son of an airline pilot, Flt Lt Egging joined the Royal Air Force in 2000 and flew Harrier jump jets before joining the Red Arrows.
During his time on the front line, he flew operational missions in Afghanistan in support of ground forces. His wife, Emma, is a museum consultant.
The Lincolnshire-based Red Arrows, formed in 1965, have completed over 4,000 displays in 53 countries.
Although Red Arrows jets have been involved in a number of crashes the last fatality was in 1978 when two pilots died after their aircraft struck the ground whilst practising aerobatics
In 1971 four pilots died after two planes collided during the cross-over manoeuvre. Two years earlier, a pilot was killed when his jet hit a tree during a practice flight.
All nine display pilots are fast jet pilots from frontline Royal Air Force squadrons.
Since 1979, the Red Arrows have used the dual control BAE Systems Hawk T1 aircraft.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk
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