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Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging killed after aircraft plunges to the ground near Bournemouth Airport in Dorset A Red Arrows pilot died on Saturday afternoon when his plane crashed after a display at an air show. Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging was killed when his Hawk T1 aircraft plunged to the ground near Bournemouth Airport in Dorset. Onlookers reported seeing the plane flying low before smashing into a field and coming to a standstill with its nose in the River Stour near the village of Throop. The aircraft was one of nine members of the famous RAF display team that had taken part in a display over the seafront in Bournemouth for the town’s fourth air festival, which was watched by tens of thousands of people. This evening a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “We can confirm that we are aware of an incident involving one of the Red Arrows and we are investigating.” The fire service confirmed it had been called to an air crash which happened near Bournemouth International Airport shortly before 2pm. One man told the BBC: “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.” Members of the public reportedly jumped into the water to search for the pilot. Wayne Kent, 30, the assistant manager of the nearby Broadway Pub, said some of his customers had seen the incident and that they believed the pilot had guided the plane away from houses in the village and from people walking near the riverbank. “I heard that the plane went down in the fields near Throop and it bounced three or four times,” he said. “The pilot then steered it towards the river.” Radio enthusiast Malcolm MacIntyre told the Bournemouth Echo that he had listened in on radio communications between the team and the control tower, just before the crash. He said that just after the Red Arrows were called to land by the tower, one of the pilots said: “Are you aware of the mayday?” The tower replied: “Yes, we are, somebody is dealing with that.” It was reported that the Red Arrows had been performing a final low-level manoeuvre as a “thank-you” to the local air traffic control when the accident happened. Witnesses said one of the aircraft performed a turn and then failed to recover. Amateur footage shows one of the Red Arrows display team planes flying at a lower height. “Whatever has happened it is a tragic incident and very devastating for local people especially, and for the team and the family of whichever pilot is involved,” said Terry Trevett, chairman of the Bournemouth Red Arrows Association. A police helicopter and a coastguard helicopter were dispatched to the scene, while emergency services established a wide exclusion zone around the crash site. TV crews were asked to stop filming while emergency services combed the wreckage. The display team is intended to be the public face of the RAF, both at home and abroad. Since 1965, the Red Arrows have flown more than 4,000 displays in 52 countries. Two Red Arrows planes collided over Crete last year, forcing one pilot to eject before his aircraft crashed on to the Greek island. The Red Arrows website says: “Today the Red Arrows are renowned throughout the world, acting as ambassadors for Great Britain when displaying overseas. They also support UK industry by demonstrating the capabilities of British equipment and expertise.” Since 1979, the Red Arrows have used the dual-control BAE Systems Hawk T1 aircraft. The planes’ Rolls Royce engines produce 5,200lbs of thrust and give a top speed of mach 1.2. The cockpit seats are fitted with Martin-Baker Mark 10B rocket boosted ejection seats. A spokesman for Dorset police said: “The incident will be investigated by the military air accident investigation team.” Plane crashes Military Air transport Jamie Doward guardian.co.uk