November 8, 2011 Red Arrows Pilot Dies In Ejection Accident (Corrected)

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By Russ Niles, Editor-in-Chief

For the second time this year a pilot in the RAF's Red Arrows air demonstration team has been killed in an accident, but in Tuesday's mishap it appears the aircraft never left the ground. Early details are sketchy but it appears the pilot was killed when the ejection seat activated while the aircraft was parked at RAF Scampton, the team's home base. "It would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause of the incident until that inquiry is complete," Group Capt. Simon Blake told BBC News. "The investigation will determine the facts." In August a Red Arrows pilot died when his aircraft went down at the Bournemouth Air Festival.

Flt. Lt. Jon Egging died in that accident. There was speculation that he blacked out in a high-G turn to avoid crashing the aircraft into a residential area. The investigation of that accident is continuing and the cause has not been officially determined.