Ejector seat safety pins useless says Red Arrow coroner

Flight Lieutenant Sean Cunningham, 35, was killed after he was accidentally ejected 220ft into the air from his Hawk T1 aircraft while on the ground at RAF Scampton on November 8 2011.

The South African born pilot remained attached to his seat and the parachute mechanism also malfunctioned. He suffered fatal injuries as he hit the ground at high velocity, the inquest heard.

Recording a narrative verdict yesterday, Central Lincolnshire coroner Stuart Fisher criticised manufacturer Martin Baker for failing to tell the RAF of risks associated with the seat.

The inquest, in Lincoln, heard that the ejection seat firing handle was in an unsafe position and could accidentally activate because the safety pin mechanism was “entirely useless”.

Tests of the MK 10 Martin Baker seat showed the pin could be inserted even when the seat was unsafe; giving the impression the seat was safe, the coroner said.

However the coroner noted that it would not have proved fatal if parachute had opened.

Mr Fisher also criticised Martin Baker for a “serious failure of communication” after failing to alert the Miinstry of Defence to risks that could stop the parachute deploying, despite being aware of problems since 1990

Despite being aware of the risks since 1990, Martin Baker failed to warn the Ministry of Defence.

Mr Fisher said: “There was a very serious failure of communication by Martin Baker (the manufacturer) in my view. It is unexplained by the evidence. ”

Lawyers confirmed the family had secured an undisclosed settlement from the MoD following a full admission of liability for the incident in July 2013.

Speaking afterwards verdict, Flt Lt Cunningham’s father Jim said: “We welcome the conclusions of the coroner, which confirm what we knew all along, which is that Sean was blameless and his tragic death was preventable.”

The RAF also came under some criticism from the coroner for failing to ensure that crews were aware that a pin could be in the seat firing handle but still unsafe.

RAF personnel had 19 opportunities to check the handle, but did not notice it was in unsafe.

Mr Fisher recommended that Martin Baker and the MoD reach a design solution to the problems and that Martin Baker introduce better procedures for safety alerts.

In a statement, Martin Baker Aircraft Ltd, said: “On this occasion, uniquely and in the entire history of Martin Baker ejection seats using this particular feature, it failed due to a shackle bolt being too tight. This prevented the main parachute from deploying.”

It said lessons had been learned and steps taken to alert customers to problems. A new type of handle had also been developed.