Death of Jon Egging
Jon Egging was a Royal Air Force pilot on the Red Arrows aerobatics display team, who died after crashing into a field in Throop, Dorset. The incident occurred after a display at the Bournemouth Air Festival in Bournemouth, Dorset. It was determined that Flt Lt Egging was incapacitated due to the effects of g-force induced loss of consciousness until very shortly before impact. Egging was the first Red Arrows pilot to die in an aircraft crash since Flt Lt Neil Duncan MacLachlan in 1988.
Personal life
Egging was born in Ufton, Warwickshire. At the time of his death, he was from Rutland, in the East Midlands.Egging's interest in flying began when he was young, after being inspired by his father, an airline pilot, who would allow Egging into the cockpit for take off and landing.
From the age of 13, Egging was a member of 2028 Squadron Air Training Corps.
Egging attended Southam School, Warwickshire, where he gained A-levels in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. It was while he was at sixth form that he was awarded a Royal Air Force Flying Scholarship. His first solo flight was in a Cessna 152, out of Wellesbourne Mountford Aerodrome in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire.
Egging later went on to study for a BSc degree in Environmental science at the University of Southampton, joining the University of Southampton Air Squadron. In his second year at university, he was awarded a Royal Air Force Bursary. Flying the Bulldog, Egging completed Elementary Flying Training with the University Air Squadron. Whilst at university, Egging met his wife, Emma, who was studying for a BSc in Archeology. Emma was also a member of the University Air Squadron.
In 2000, Egging joined the Royal Air Force. He flew the Tucano and Hawk aircraft after being selected for fast jet training, training at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, in 2001. From RAF Cranwell, Egging was then posted to RAF Linton, Yorkshire and from there on to RAF Valley, North Wales, becoming a qualified flying instructor on the Hawk aircraft, teaching both students and instructors. Flying the Harrier GR9, Egging served with IV Squadron, known as "Happy IV", based at Royal Air Force Cottesmore in Rutland in the East Midlands.
On operational duty, Egging flew operational missions in Afghanistan, supporting coalition forces on the ground. He completed exercises in the United Kingdom and the United States, including serving with his squadron on HMS Illustrious, as part of Joint Force Harrier. Here, he flew training missions off the coastline of the United Kingdom. During his last year on his squadron, Egging became a qualified flying instructor, moving to Royal Air Force Wittering to transition to teaching on the Harrier Operational Conversion Unit, in April 2010.
In Autumn 2010, Egging joined the Red Arrows aerobatics display team, as Red 4, with this position "an accolade in itself", due to it being "the most demanding position allocated to a first year pilot", due to Red 4 flying on the right hand side of the famous "Diamond Nine" formation. Egging's "professionalism, skill and humility" were noted throughout his training and displays with the team. Throughout his RAF career, Egging had been assessed as "high/above average". He was described as having an "excellent record of service".
Airshow
The Red Arrows were taking part in the Saturday displays at the Bournemouth Air Festival. Visibility exceeded 10 km, the horizon being clearly defined and there was a light southeasterly wind. The cloud base was higher than forecasted over the display area, meaning the team could fly their full display. After their display, the Red Arrows performed two flypasts. The original scheduled time of the display and flypasts were from 13:00 to 13:25 BST.Incident
Prior to the accident
On the morning of 20 August 2011, Egging awoke at approximately 08:00 BST, completing a 5 mile run along the seafront and cliffs, with his wife, who had travelled to Bournemouth for the weekend. After this, he went to a local bakery to collect packed lunches for him and the other Red Arrows pilots, before meeting to be transported to Bournemouth International Airport at approximately 11:30 BST. Egging was Red 4 and flew his aircraft, tail number XX179. The display went off without any issues, with Egging flying his aircraft normally and without reporting any issues with the aircraft. The radio calls that he was expected to make during the display were made and it was reported that he engaged in some "light hearted banter", prior to the end of flying.Accident
Following the display, the aircraft were given clearance by Air Traffic Control and began returning to Bournemouth International Airport. Initially, Red 1, Sqn Ldr Ben Murphy, flying tail number , had planned to ask the other pilots to perform a "loop" into the landing, rather than a "flat break". However, aircraft involved in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight had taxied and to avoid the historic aircraft overheating, had a latest take off time. Sqn Ldr Murphy therefore changed his plans, deciding on a flat break instead. Sqn Ldr Murphy later stated that if possible and appropriate, he will provide an advisory call to the pilots to advise them they are "20 or so knots" over the target speed prior to going into the break. However, he didn't have time to make the call, but later stated there was nothing to make him realise the pilots had got "slightly above the target speed".The pilots used a "break" to gather their aircraft into position prior to landing, with Red 1, called for a "flat break". This break resulted in the highest g-force and for the longest amount of time of the flight – the pilots would have pulled 6.3g. Egging, in Red 4, appeared to roll the aircraft normally, reaching an apex at the correct height of 500 ft. However, he progressively over-banked and began descending towards the ground. It is believed that around this time, Egging suffered the effects A-LOC, where a person with partial consciousness still has strength to control the stick of an aircraft, but is impaired cognitively and functionally to do so. Red 2 was immediately behind Egging's aircraft and radioed a warning of "4 check height". It is believed that Egging may have regained full consciousness at this stage, with Egging's aircraft pulling up slightly. Red 2 radioed the same warning, however, it was too late for Egging to avoid a crash and at approximately 1350 BST, Egging's aircraft crashed into a field at Throop.
Egging's aircraft initially struck the ground with one of its wings, with this striking two barbed wire fences and a fence post. Witnesses noticed that the airbrake was extended after the aircraft hit the first barbed wire fence. With the wings level, the fuselage of Egging's aircraft impacted the ground, with the smoke pod breaking up and the canopy of the aircraft shattering.
After the fuselage impacted, the right wing dug into the ground and detached from the fuselage. The detached wing continued to travel a further 200m before stopping. The fuselage of Egging's aircraft went up approximately 50 metres into the air, caused by the detached wing levering the aircraft. Returning to the ground, the nose of the aircraft was down, with the fuselage bouncing along the ground in a linear direction.
Egging's aircraft struck trees on the eastern side of the River Stour. The front of the fuselage and cockpit structure were destroyed as a result. Colliding with the trees caused Egging's aircraft to spin and damage the rear of the fuselage. The force of the collision ripped the front and rear ejector seats out of the cockpit of Egging's aircraft and a substantial amount of wreckage was found on the eastern bank and within the River Stour.
Having hit the trees, Egging's aircraft was carrying enough momentum for what was left of the fuselage to travel across the river and resting, upside down, on the western bank of the river.
Egging was not seen to eject from the aircraft prior to the crash and evidence later suggested that he hadn't attempted to do so either. Witnesses reported how Egging guided his aircraft away from houses in the village and from people walking on the riverbank, prior to crashing though, given the cause of the crash being stated as loss of consciousness, this is unlikely. Egging was exposed to a "peak deceleration during the crash sequence in excess of 200g". The crash forces were described as "non-survivable" and that Egging would have died instantaneously.
A witness, John Dugdale, reported another member of the public ran past him saying "one of the reds has gone down". Dugdale ran over and saw a group of people, as well as part of the aircraft wreckage, that was on the riverbank. One of the group entered the water, and at a bend in the river, close to a riverbank, discovered Egging, deceased in the water. His body had been thrown from the aircraft. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Later in the day, Dorset Police and the Ministry of Defence confirmed Egging had died.
Aftermath
Crash site
After the crash, emergency services responded and cordoned off the area. The Military Air Accident Investigation branch attended the scene and began their investigation.On 25 August 2011, the wreckage of XX179 was recovered to MOD Boscombe Down.
On 31 August 2011, it was reported that Dorset Police were investigating two reports of people collecting debris from the crash site. An eyewitness saw a man carrying part of the wreckage, who made a comment to the witness about putting parts of the wreckage on eBay. Dorset Police warned that anyone taking parts of the RAF aircraft wreckage would be committing theft.
Other pilots
The Red Arrows were grounded after Egging's accident. On 25 August 2011, the aircraft were cleared to fly, after the initial investigation found there were no wider safety concerns involved in Egging's accident. On 27 August 2011, the aircraft and pilots returned to their base at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. On 29 August 2011, the Red Arrows began practicing formations as eight aircraft, compared with the usual nine – this was not unusual, with the team regularly practicing routines with eight aircraft, so that in the event a pilot cannot fly, an air display can still take place.On 2 September 2011, the Red Arrows performed their first two public displays since Egging's accident.