Red Arrows’ planes cleared to return to skies after fatal crash

Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging, 33, from Rutland, died when his plane came down in Dorset on Saturday after completing a display over Bournemouth seafront.

The world-famous aerobatics team is renowned for its precision routines where nine aircraft fly in a perfect diamond, but it will now begin practising with eight.

The RAF halted flying of all 126 of its Hawk T1 training jets while preliminary investigations were carried out into the cause of the tragedy.

It was confirmed yesterday that there are no wider safety concerns about the aircraft, meaning the Red Arrows can take to the skies again.

Having undergone routine maintenance while they were grounded at Bournemouth Airport, the jets should return to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire today.

The Red Arrows will then begin practising flying in “eight ship formation” displays on Tuesday with the intention of resuming air show performances.

Defence sources earlier suggested it was unlikely they would do any more displays this year, but an RAF spokesman stressed that no decision had been made.

The team regularly practises routines with eight aircraft in case one pilot cannot fly, for example because of illness.

An RAF spokesman said: “Having been assured of the airworthiness of the Hawk T1 fleet the precautionary suspension of flying activity has been lifted and flying operations have been resumed.”

The full service inquiry into the crash is expected to last months while investigators yesterday had still to release any details of their initial findings.

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