An RAF fighter jet was directed towards an open field to “avoid built-up areas” before its two pilots ejected as the aircraft crashed, an RAF commander has said.
The Hawk T2, reportedly making its first test flight following repairs, crashed just moments after taking off from RAF Valley near Rhosneigr, Anglesey, yesterday afternoon.
Footage shows the two pilots, who suffered only minor injuries, parachuting from the aircraft before it plunged nose-first into the ground in a huge fireball. The jet narrowly missed nearby homes.
Gp Capt Gez Currie, the station commander, said the aircraft would have been directed towards an area believed to be clear of people.
“The aircraft would have been aimed in a direction that the pilot believed was open field, in order to avoid built-up areas and anybody on the ground,” he said.
The RAF has suspended Hawk operations as a “precautionary measure” while an investigation into the crash continues.
The two pilots are expected to make a full recovery after receiving hospital treatment. Their families have been with them.
Providing further details of the incident, Currie told the BBC: “It was a trainee, with a highly experienced instructor on a routine sortie, across the Anglesey area.”
A huge fireball erupted when the RAF jet crashed near the village of Rhosneigr, Anglesey, yesterday
A large pile of twisted metal was still burning when local people went to inspect the crash site yesterday
Witnesses reported seeing flames coming from the Hawk T2 training aircraft after it took off from RAF Valley
Gp Capt Gez Currie, the station commander, said the aircraft would have been directed away from populated areas
The Ministry of Defence defines a sortie as “one mission, one complete trip”.
Local farmer Richard Owen, who owns Afallon Caravan Park near Rhosneigr, described his narrow escape after the wrecked aircraft came down nearby.
The 88-year-old said he was in his kitchen when he heard the first bang, although he initially “didn’t think much about it”.
MORE STORY: Warlock paedophile – Missing Schoolboy Case: Woman Claims She Knows Who Killed Him
“We are on the flight path and there are planes overhead every day. We’re just a couple of miles from the runway.
“But then I heard a second bang and saw the fire and flames. It landed just on the other side of the park.
“I went out to take a look. There were little pieces of wreckage scattered around the site. The tail section must have blown off and landed next to one of the caravans.
“There was a lot of smoke, thick black smoke. I didn’t dare go too close because I was worried it might explode.”
Mr Owen said he was grateful that most of his 30 caravans were unoccupied and that the vehicles were largely undamaged.
A huge piece of debris, seemingly from the plane’s tail, landed just yards from a caravan
The Hawk T2 plummeted to the ground moments after taking off, with witnesses reporting a ‘big bang’ and flames coming from the jet
While it took the RAF police around 15 minutes to arrive, the farmer reported that a helicopter was with the ejected pilots within ‘a minute or two’.
A local source claimed the plane had ‘just been repaired after a faulty component’.
They said: ‘This was a test flight and they realised pretty quickly that something was wrong. It was a very lucky escape for all involved.’
RAF Valley, where Prince William was once stationed as a search-and-rescue pilot flying Sea King helicopters, is home to the RAF’s No4 Flying Training School and is responsible for training Britain’s next generation of fighter pilots.
The Hawk T2 is built by BAE Systems and has been used to train British pilots since 1976.
It is described by the RAF as a ‘high-performance, two-seat training jet’ designed to ‘simulate front-line combat aircraft like the Typhoon’.
It is used in training to prepare pilots for complex tactical environments.