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RAF Engineer Killed In Red Arrows Plane Crash In Wales

RAF Engineer Killed In Red Arrows Plane Crash In Wales

BREAKING

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

An RAF engineer has been killed after a Red Arrows plane crashed in Wales.

Group captain Nick Tucker-Lowe said in a statement: "It's with great sadness that the RAF can confirm the death of an engineer from the RAF aerobatics team The Red Arrows in a tragic accident today.

"The engineer's family have been informed and have asked for a 24-hour period of grace before further details are released.

SWNS

"The pilot of the aircraft survived the incident and is currently receiving medical care."

Miraculously, the pilot, believed to be David Stark, according to the Mirror, managed to survive the crash after ejecting from the plane with just seconds to spare.

It's reported that a bird flying into the aircraft could be to blame for its sudden troubles. The RAF has launched an investigation, saying it would be inappropriate to comment further.

An eyewitness told local the Daily Post: "I was sat at Rhosneigr train station waiting for the train and you can see the air field from there and I was watching the Red Arrow flying because you hardly ever see them and then it looked like it was about to land then next thing I saw was the parachute and then the plane hit the runway and went up in flames."

PA

Howard Rigby also saw the tragedy unfold, telling the BBC: "I turned immediately to the airport, I could see a ball of flame and a multi-coloured parachute.

"Just one parachute, not very high which is a bit worrying. I immediately knew there'd been a major incident."

RAF Valley is home to the No.4 Flying Training School and is responsible for providing Advanced Fast Jet Training to the RAF and the Fleet Wing Arm of the Royal Navy.

The Red Arrows are the Royal Air Force's specialist aerobatics display team and are usually based out of RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire but have been known to use other bases.

PA

They manage to produce their famous smoke trails by injecting diesel into the exhaust, vaporising the hot exhaust flow which then re-condenses into tiny droplets that give off the appearance of smoke.

The first Red Arrows fatality happened in 1969, when an aircraft smashed into trees during a practice run at RAF Kemble. Two years later, four people were killed when a couple of Gnats collided during a cross-over manoeuvre.

The most recent fatal incident for the aerial acrobatic group was in 2011 when a Hawk plane crashed into a field, killing one person.

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: News, plane crash, UK, Wales