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9 novembre 2011 3 09 /11 /novembre /2011 13:55

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Red.arrows.formation2.arp.jpg/545px-Red.arrows.formation2.arp.jpg

 

09.11.2011 By Craig Hoyle – FlightGlobal

 

The UK Royal Air Force has temporarily suspended all "non-essential" flights of aircraft fitted with the Martin-Baker Mk 10b ejection seat as a "precautionary measure" following a fatal accident involving an aircraft from its Red Arrows aerobatic display team.

 

The grounding covers three aircraft - BAE Systems Hawk T1/1A trainers, Panavia Tornado GR4 strike aircraft and Shorts Tucano T1 basic trainers.

 

Ongoing operations involving the Tornados in Afghanistan are unaffected by the grounding, the Ministry of Defence added.

 

Operations with the types were halted after an incident at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire on 8 November, where a pilot died of injuries sustained after his ejection seat activated while on the ground.

 

The RAF confirmed it has suspended non-operational flights with aircraft equipped with Martin-Baker Mk 10B ejection seats as a routine precaution following the accident.

 

Its decision represents the third time in a little more than a year that the Hawk fleet has been temporarily stood down. Fleet-wide inspections were conducted in mid-2010 after cracks were found in an ejection seat structure on one Hawk, and operations were also temporarily halted in August 2011 after a Red Arrows aircraft crashed shortly after completing a flying display in Bournemouth, Dorset. Its pilot, Flt Lt Jon Egging, was killed.

 

The UK Military Air Accident Investigation Branch is now investigating both accidents involving the Red Arrows. The Ministry of Defence expects to confirm the identity of the deceased pilot on 9 November.

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