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.