The UK is continuing a safety inspection of its BAE Systems Hawk T1 jet trainers, after ordering a temporary suspension of flight activities following the crash of a Red Arrows-operated aircraft on 20 August.

Royal Air Force Flt Lt Jon Egging, “Red 4”, was killed when his Hawk crashed after the team had completed its second of a planned three displays at the Bournemouth Air Festival. The aircraft came down around 1.5km (0.8nm) away from Bournemouth airport in Dorset, from where the team had been operating during the three-day show.

The Ministry of Defence said all remaining Hawk T1s are to undergo checks as a safety precaution, and dismissed initial speculation from some media outlets about the possible causes behind the accident.

 Red Arrows Bournemouth - Rex Features
© Robert Timoney/Rex Features
The Red Arrows completed their second display at the Bournemouth Air Festival before the accident happened

In addition to temporarily halting operations involving the Red Arrows team, which is ordinarily based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, the suspension decision also affects Hawk T1 trainers based at Valley in Anglesey and Leeming in Yorkshire. It is unclear whether the service’s new-generation Hawk T2s flown, also flown from Valley, are covered by the measure.

The oldest of the RAF’s roughly 70 current Hawk T1-standard trainers entered service in 1976, as listed in Flightglobal’s MiliCAS database.

Source: FlightGlobal.com

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