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The RAF's Red Arrows display team has been grounded while investigators try to establish the cause of a crash in Dorset which killed one of its pilots.

Flt Lt Jon Egging, 33, from Rutland, died when his Hawk T1 aircraft crashed near Bournemouth Airport after a display on Saturday afternoon.



Witnesses described seeing his plane hit the ground in a field by the River Stour near the village of Throop.

Books of condolence are to be opened in Bournemouth later for public tributes.

Dorset Police said Flt Lt Egging, known as 'Eggman', was thrown from the aircraft and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging Flt Lt Egging flew on the right hand outside of the Diamond Nine formation

Shortly before the crash, his wife, Dr Emma Egging, had watched him take part in a display at the Bournemouth Air Festival.

She said later: "Watching him today, I was the proudest I've ever been. I loved everything about him, and he will be missed."

Gp Capt Simon Blake, the commandant of the RAF Central Flying School, said the Ministry of Defence had begun an investigation into the cause of the crash and all Red Arrows Hawk T1 aircraft, based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, had been grounded as a standard safety measure.

He said: "At this juncture it is too early to speculate as to the cause of the accident.

"In accordance with normal policy the Ministry of Defence has appointed a service inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident and... have grounded the Hawk T1 temporarily until its safety can be assured.

"As for the rest of the season it is too early to speculate as to when the Red Arrows will be back on the public circuit but suffice to say for the short term they will not be able to perform in public."
'Heard a crack'

The crash site was cordoned off by police soon after the incident and only people living inside the zone were being allowed access.

The Military Air Accident Investigation Branch has started an inquiry.

Flt Lt Egging's aircraft was one of nine Red Arrows planes to take part in the display over the seafront.
The wreckage of the Red Arrow The plane plunged into a field near the River Stour



The RAF said he joined the team in the autumn of 2010 and flew on the right hand outside of the famous Diamond Nine formation.

Nicholas Gore, 22, was walking with a friend close to the river when he saw all nine Red Arrows overhead.

"There were quite a few people watching and we saw them go over but one seemed quite low," he said.

"They then disappeared behind trees and I heard a crack, not an explosion, just a crack and we got further down and I saw the plane with its red tail in the air and its nose in the river."

Another witness, who did not want to be named, said the plane had skidded for several hundred metres along the riverbank after it crashed.
Messages for family

Bournemouth Borough Council leader Peter Charon said he had arranged for the authority to open two books of condolence on Sunday "for people to express their sympathy and record memories".

"The mayor of Bournemouth and myself will be opening these books... at Bournemouth Town Hall, recording our sympathies on behalf of the town and the council respectively," he said.

He said the books would be opened at 10:00 BST and people could sign them up until 20:00 on Sunday. They will also be available for signing throughout the week.

The council said it would hand the books to Flt Lt Egging's family, along with any donations given by members of the public for the family's chosen charity.

In a statement, the borough council asked anyone wishing to leave floral tributes to place them on the grass banks around the Town Hall.

Bournemouth Air Festival organisers said the event would go ahead on Sunday, with other RAF displays among the attractions.

All nine Red Arrows display pilots are fast jet pilots from frontline Royal Air Force squadrons.

Flt Lt Egging joined the RAF in 2000 and served with IV(AC) Squadron based at RAF Cottesmore, flying the Harrier GR9 in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The Red Arrows have used the dual control BAE Systems Hawk T1 aircraft since 1979.

Red Arrows Hawk T1 Aircraft

Two-seater, single-engined advanced training aircraft
Length: 38ft 11in (11.8m)
Wingspan: 30ft 10in (9.5m)
Thrust: 5,200lbs
Max altitude: 48,000 ft (14,630 m)
Max speed: 638 mph (1,025 km/h) in level flight and 915 mph (1,472 km/h) in a dive
The Red Arrows are based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire
Manufacturer: Hawker Siddeley/BAE Systems (United Kingdom)
Used by the Red Arrows since 1979

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Superocean Héritage Chronograph

R.I.P., Lt.

"High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God."

Beautiful poem by John Magee, and a fitting tribute to Flt Lt Egging. Rest in peace, sir.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

A fitting tribute. RIP Flt Lt Jon Egging.

Very nice tribute wvynck.

RIP Flt Lt Jon Egging.

Mods, you may delete my post on the same subject (just logged in).

There have been at least 3 posts on this subject. That proves that the Red Arrows leave no one untouched.

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

Thanks for deleting my other post mods.

On the latest news, it seems that the reason for the crash is bird strike. Eggman could have saved himself but as is often the case, and to his honor, he refused to eject to safety from his stricken Hawk so he could steer it clear of people and houses.

Well, the good have to go first. Everybody is unanimous that Jon Egging was an exemplary pilot, a true team-player and a gifted aviator.

As for the rest of the Red Arrows's season, it's too early to say but suffice to say that in the near future they will not perform in public.

Personally, the last time I had the pleasure and honor to see the Red Arrows it was when they performed last in Greece. It was on the occasion of the celebration of the battle of Crete at which the British played such an essential part and it was on May 21st and May 22nd when they performed over the sea near Athens.

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.