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Red Arrows' Jon Egging 'may have passed out' before crash | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A Red Arrows pilot may have partially lost consciousness before his plane crashed, an inquest has heard. | |
Jon Egging, 33, of Rutland, died when his Hawk T1 jet crashed at the Bournemouth Air Festival, in August last year. | |
Wing Cdr Mark Rodden, who led the RAF inquiry, said "A-loc" - near loss of consciousness due to G force - was the likely cause of the crash. | |
Black box data showed Flt Lt Egging reacted 3.5 seconds before impact. | |
Earlier, the pilot's team-mate Flt Lt Chris Lyndon-Smith told Bournemouth Coroner's Court he called to Flt Lt Egging over the radio when he witnessed him losing height. | |
He described his friend as cheerful and meticulous and said the manoeuvre they carried out, involving banking to 85 degrees then gaining height to about 500m, was one they performed regularly. | |
'Check height' | 'Check height' |
The court was shown a simulation created using data gathered from the planes flying that day. It showed Flt Lt Egging completing the first part of the move then losing height before crashing at a shallow angle. | |
Flt Lt Lyndon-Smith said he shouted "4, check height" to his colleague, whose call sign was Red 4. | |
When asked if he saw a reaction, he said: "It's difficult to tell, but from what I saw, I don't think I saw one, and the video appears to show the same, although there may have been a tiny reaction right at the end." | When asked if he saw a reaction, he said: "It's difficult to tell, but from what I saw, I don't think I saw one, and the video appears to show the same, although there may have been a tiny reaction right at the end." |
He explained to the court pilots wear g-suits, which are designed to help prevent them blacking out during manoeuvres. | |
When asked by the coroner whether Flt Lt Egging's jet looked to be in control, he said: "An aircraft can be out of control but be going in a completely straight line. | |
"From what I could see at that time, he was not in control of the aircraft at that time, although there was a slight movement right at the end on the video." | |
Flt Lt Egging's wife, Dr Emma Egging, who gave evidence first, said her husband had been well and in good spirits before the display, which she watched with the other pilots' wives and close friends. | |
Her husband, she said, had missed a flight earlier in the summer because of neck and back pain and had taken 10 days' rest and received treatment from MoD physios and a private osteopath. | |
His neck was giving him no trouble on the day, although he had taken ibuprofen for a sore back in the morning, she said. | |
The hearing, which is expected to last two days, is taking place after the Military Aviation Authority completed its independent inquiry into the crash. | |
The hearing continues. | The hearing continues. |