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| Red Arrows' first female pilot takes ground role | Red Arrows' first female pilot takes ground role |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The first woman to fly with the Red Arrows display team is to move to a ground-based role. | The first woman to fly with the Red Arrows display team is to move to a ground-based role. |
| Flt Lt Kirsty Stewart, formerly Moore, 33, joined the Lincolnshire-based unit in 2010. | |
| The Ministry of Defence said the move was not linked to any disciplinary issues or related to her gender. | The Ministry of Defence said the move was not linked to any disciplinary issues or related to her gender. |
| The move follows the deaths of two Red Arrows' pilots during 2011. The team will display with seven planes in 2012, but with nine for ceremonies. | The move follows the deaths of two Red Arrows' pilots during 2011. The team will display with seven planes in 2012, but with nine for ceremonies. |
| A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The Red Arrows will conduct aerobatic displays with seven aircraft rather than the usual nine in 2012 due to the unavoidable posting of one of their pilots. | A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The Red Arrows will conduct aerobatic displays with seven aircraft rather than the usual nine in 2012 due to the unavoidable posting of one of their pilots. |
| "With safety paramount, but the quality of the displays vitally important, it has been decided that seven aircraft presents the most visually balanced and dynamic formation. | "With safety paramount, but the quality of the displays vitally important, it has been decided that seven aircraft presents the most visually balanced and dynamic formation. |
| "The team will still carry out official flypasts with nine aircraft. The Red Arrows will return to a full aerobatic formation of nine aircraft in 2013." | "The team will still carry out official flypasts with nine aircraft. The Red Arrows will return to a full aerobatic formation of nine aircraft in 2013." |
| Retired air vice marshall Jerry Connelly said moving to a seven jet formation makes sense. | |
| "Because of the way the formations work, an odd number is right. | |
| "So if one drops out, in a normal show for example, rather than fly in a formation that would look odd with eight of the nine aircraft in it, like a diamond, it is better to take two out and fly a smaller but still symmetrical shape". | |
| Flt Lt Sean Cunningham, 35, was killed on 8 November when he was ejected from his plane while on the ground at RAF Scampton. | Flt Lt Sean Cunningham, 35, was killed on 8 November when he was ejected from his plane while on the ground at RAF Scampton. |
| The accident came less than three months after Flt Lt Jon Egging, 33, was killed at the end an air show in Dorset. | The accident came less than three months after Flt Lt Jon Egging, 33, was killed at the end an air show in Dorset. |