Pilot Was Ejected While Hawk T1 Sat On Ground At RAF Scampton

The RAF Red Arrows jet demo team may be anxious to put the year 2011 behind it. For the second time in less than three months, a team member has been fatally injured. The latest case happened Tuesday at about 1100Z, when 35-year-old Flight Lieutenant Sean Cunningham, a native of South Africa, was ejected while his BAE Systems Hawk T1 sat on the ground at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire.

The UK Ministry of Defense has ordered the grounding of all RAF aircraft fitted with the rocket-actuated Martin Baker Mk 10 ejection seat, according to the BBC. The suspension is expected to last for days, not weeks.

Cunningham was a veteran of multiple tours of Iraq, an alumnus of Nottingham Trent University, and had been with the RAF since 2000. He flew with the 617 Dambuster Squadron based at Lossiemouth.

Prime Minister David Cameron (pictured below) told the House of Commons, "I'm sure the hearts of everyone in this house go out to the family of the pilot who was killed in this terrible accident and it comes on top of a second accident that happened in the Red Arrows. This has obviously been a very tragic time for something that the whole country reveres and loves and I know that their home to them in Lincolnshire is extremely important. We must get to the bottom of what happened."

Just a few weeks ago, on August 20, 33-year-old Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging was pronounced dead at the scene after attempting an ejection following an aircraft systems failure in his T1 at the Bournemouth (UK) Air Festival. Witnesses said Egging separated from the rest of the formation and was flying low but under control toward an open field, where the aircraft hit and broke up, coming to rest on a river bank. It was thought at the time he might have delayed ejecting until he could maneuver the plane to minimize risks to people on the ground, but waited too late to save himself.

The Red Arrows have been flying as a military formation team since 1965 and have logged over 43,000 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."

The Hawk T1 is capable of mach 1.2, and has been in service as the RAF's primary jet trainer since 1979.

FMI: www.raf.mod.uk/reds