Crash: The MOD confirmed Red 4 pilot Jon Egging has died following a crash near Bournemouth.
— Updated at 7.20pm
Red Arrows pilot Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging (33) has been killed after his Hawk T1 aircraft, Red 4, crashed following a display at Bournemouth Air Festival.
Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging
A full service inquiry into the crash has been initiated. “It would be inappropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident at this time,” the MOD said.
The world-famous Red Arrows from Scampton, near Lincoln, were completing their display when onlookers noticed only eight of the nine aircraft landed at around 1.50pm on Saturday, August 20.
The display was being performed over Bournemouth seafront. The plane reportedly landed on a riverbank near Throop village.
Since the team was officially formed in 1965, the Red Arrows have completed over 4,000 displays in 53 countries.
The last Red Arrows fatality was in 1971, when four pilots died in a collision at Kemble, Glouchestershrie.
The team last had an accident in March 2010, when two jets crashed in training in Crete and neither pilot was seriously injured.
Speaking to the BBC, witness Shaun Spencer-Perkins, said: “I heard a rushing sound and I saw a plane about 15m above the ground racing across the fields.
“It impacted and bounced across the field, made it across the river.
“Members of the public jumped into the water to search for the cockpit.
“We waved down the helicopter, I took off my son’s orange jacket and my wife’s red jumper to get the attention of the helicopter.”
— Additional reporting from Daniel Ionescu
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