Flight ban after Red Arrow tragedy

The 35-year-old, who was named by the Ministry of Defence yesterday, was killed after being ejected from his Hawk T1 while on the ground at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire on Tuesday.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “Pending further investigation and purely as a precautionary measure, all non-essential Royal Air Force flying on aircraft fitted with a similar ejector seat to the Hawk T1 has been temporarily suspended. The safety of our crews remains our paramount concern.”

The suspension affects RAF aircraft fitted with Martin Baker Mk 10 ejection seats, which are the Tornado GR4, Tucano and Hawk.

It is expected to last for days rather than weeks and, while operational flying will not be affected, some training flights will be cancelled.

The RAF also temporarily halted flying of all 126 of its Hawk T1 training jets in the summer while preliminary investigations were carried out into the cause of the death of Fl Lt Jon Egging, 33, who died in an air show crash in Dorset in August.

Born in Johannesburg, Fl Lt Cunningham, from Coventry, moved to the UK at the age of nine. Although he had the potential to become a professional footballer, he decided to follow his dream of training as an RAF pilot.

Having joined the RAF in 2000, he flew Tornado GR4s during the Iraq War as part of 617 “The Dambusters” Squadron.

Flt Lt Cunningham joined the Red Arrows in 2010 and was this year promoted to the important “Red 5” position in the world-famous aerobatics team.

His father Jim, mother Monika and sister Nicolette said in a statement: “Sean was first and foremost a much-loved son and brother who will be dearly missed by all of his family, and his many good friends.

“Since his childhood Sean had dreamed of flying fast jets in the Royal Air Force. Through his hard work and dedication he achieved that dream, and the pinnacle of his career was to fly in the Red Arrows.

“Sean loved his flying and we hope his life will be an inspiration to all those who share his dreams. His fun-loving nature has never failed to put a smile on the faces of those who knew and loved him. This is how he will be remembered.”

Group Captain Simon Blake, the commandant of the RAF’s central flying school, said: “His constant smile, energy, and joie de vivre was infectious and he will be sorely missed by his fellow pilots, the entire Red Arrows team and his many colleagues and friends in the wider Royal Air Force.”

His best friend Bobby Hartwell added: “He was a very good guy, one of the best. He loved his friends and he loved his job.

“He was popular with everyone, he didn’t have a bad bone in his body. Everyone just got on with him and no-one had a bad word to say about him. That was just the way he is.

“I’m shocked and devastated. I can’t believe it. I’ve lost a very good friend.”

The death was not the first linked to an ejector seat failure in an RAF aircraft.

Civilian navigator Mike Harland, 44, of Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, died after his seat slipped from an RAF Tornado GR4 while upside down during a test flight above Norfolk in November 2007.

Accident investigators concluded that a locking device had not been properly fitted but RAF technicians insisted it was correctly installed, his inquest in Norwich heard last year.

The Military Aviation Authority is carrying out an investigation into the latest tragedy. Defence sources said Flt Lt Cunningham’s death was not thought to be linked to the accidents which killed Flt Lt Egging or Mr Harland.

The Red Arrows completed their final display of the season in September and have been carrying out their winter training at their base at RAF Scampton.

The Red Arrows have used the dual-control BAE Systems Hawk T1, which has a top speed of Mach 1.2, since 1979.

Hawk T1s are also used for training fast-jet pilots at RAF Valley in Anglesey, and RAF Leeming, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

In our coverage of the accident in yesterday’s newspaper we carried a photo of Group Captain Simon Blake giving a statement outside RAF Scampton. The photo was incorrectly captioned as Fl Lt Jon Egging. We apologise for any confusion caused.