Red Arrows crash: thousands pay tribute to dead pilot

At the Bournemouth Air Festival people queued to sign a book of condolence and lay floral tributes to Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging In an outpouring of public grief at the Bournemouth Air Festival on Sunday, thousands of people queued to sign books of condolence and lay floral tributes to Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging, who crashed into a field minutes after performing with the Red Arrows on Saturday in front of an estimated 300,000 spectators. The festival’s final day of events went ahead as planned but a display by the Red Arrows was cancelled after the squadron’s first fatal crash in 33 years. Aviation enthusiasts and people living close to where the Royal Air Force plane came down paid tribute to the 33-year old pilot from Rutland for avoiding houses and crashing in a field on the edge of Bournemouth at 1.50pm on Saturday. Debbie Simpson, 46, had brought her family to pay their respects at Bournemouth Town Hall, partly because they had watched Saturday’s display but also because the Red Arrow crashed 150 yards from their home in the village of Throop. “It is a shock it happened so close to home and I think he is a hero. It makes me proud to be British that we have the Red Arrows,” she said. “I don’t think he had a thought for his own safety. He grounded his plane to avoid what could have been carnage.” The view was echoed by the leader of Bournemouth borough council, Peter Charon. “The fact nobody else was injured is testimony to his bravery,” he said. Tributes of flowers, inflatable Red Arrow planes, candles and teddy bears spread across the town hall lawn as a stream of more than 1,500 people made their way to sign first two, then four and finally six books of condolence, set up by the local council in honour of “Red 4″, as the pilot was known. Some sobbed behind sunglasses in bright south coast sunshine where the Red Arrows were billed the star turn at an air show suffused with military and patriotic pride. “RIP – You filled our skies with colour and our hearts with joy and excitement . Thank you!! Xxxxx” read one card. “Red Arrows=the pride of Britain. We all feel we have lost a dear friend and son,” said another. “Such a sad and tragic accident,” began one note. “You are such a hero for flying your plane away from shops and houses and sacrificing your own life. The town of Bournemouth is in shock.” The RAF suspended all Red Arrow displays using BAE Systems Hawk T1 aircraft until a full service inquiry “can give positive indications as to the air worthiness of the platform”. “It is too early to speculate on the cause of the accident,” said group captain Simon Blake. “It is too early to speculate on the future of the RAF aerobatic team for the remainder of the season. Clearly safety is paramount in our thoughts.” Earlier this month, a Red Arrow pilot was had to perform an emergency landing at Blackpool after a bird strike. Flt Lt Egging’s aircraft came down in a field near the village of Throop and ploughed to a standstill with its nose in the river Stour. It was about 150 yards from cottages, locals said. He was thrown from the plane and was found dead in the water. On Saturday, the pilot’s widow, Dr Emma Egging, had told of her pride in her husband having watched the display. “Jon was everything to those that knew him and he was the best friend and husband I could ever have wished for,” she said. “Watching him today, I was the proudest I have ever been. I loved everything about him and he will be missed.” Defence secretary, Liam Fox said he was “a gifted aviator, selected for one of the most demanding flying jobs in the RAF”. Among members of the public moved to express their grief was Barbara Lees, 64 from Fordingbridge in Hampshire. She laid “a red rose for the Red Arrow” at Bournemouth Town Hall and said her sense of loss was keen because the 300,000 spectators had heard the pilots’ voices over the public address system after they had completed a trick. “I feel awful, devastated and I am doing this today because we feel that we knew them,” she said. “They had just put on such wonderful show for us that for this to happen was horrid.” After the half hour display finished, a helicopter made a display followed by the Breitling wing walkers and then there was a break and it dawned on the spectators that something had happened, she said. As the afternoon progressed the news came through that Egging had died. On Sunday,down on the beachfront, the air show went on at what Cllr Charon said was “the express wish of the RAF”. After a tribute to the dead pilot over the public address system and a one minute silence, thousands watched the Battle of Britain memorial flight including a Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricanes. The Red Arrows 4pm slot was filled with a display by a Vulcan Bomber and an RAF Tornado. But everywhere amid the holiday atmosphere, candy floss and bouncy castles, the talk was of the crash. Stuart Donovan, 56, the owner of a model aircraft stand was down to his last model Red Arrow and was all out of inflatable replicas. “I’m sold out,” he said. “I think it is because of the crash. People have responded so quickly. Earlier, I saw a man walking along wearing a T-shirt with the pilot’s face printed on the front and ‘Red 4′ on the back.” Military Plane crashes Robert Booth guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 21, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.