MOD ‘must act’ to prevent more RAF crashes

MORE airmen could die in incidents like the Red Arrows crash, a coroner has warned as she ruled the Ministry of Defence’s duty of care fell below expected standards.

Cpl Jonathan Bayliss, 41, died when the Hawk T1 jet crashed into the runway at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales, on March 20 2018. The pilot, Flt Lt David Stark, survived by ejecting moments earlier.

At a hearing in North Wales yesterday, coroner Katie Sutherland said she would recommend to the MOD that stall warnings should be installed in the aircraft and better simulator training developed.

She said it would not be in the interests of justice to reach a conclusion of unlawful killing. Recording a narrative conclusion, she said the Hawk probably stalled without warning to the pilot and at a height which did not allow recovery.

Pilots can sometimes feel vibrations through the airframe as an aircraft approaches stall speed.

However, these are not always present if the plane is carrying heavy loads, such as the smoke pods the Red Arrows use to emit red, white and blue smoke during displays.

The coroner said Flt Lt Stark had not been able to anticipate the crash until the final moment as any vibrations may not have been present due to the fitting of a smoke pod.

Ms Sutherland said the MOD had considered installing a stall warning system on the jets following a crash in 2007, but decided not to invest in the systems.

“The evidence shows the crash could have been avoided,” she added.

More analysis was being done on fitting the stall warnings following Cpl Bayliss’s death but a final decision had yet to be made, the coroner’s court heard.

Ms Sutherland said: “This does give rise to concern that future deaths will occur and action should be taken to reduce the risk of death.”

She said Cpl Bayliss’s family had asked for a conclusion of unlawful killing to be considered. However, she concluded the pilot had not breached his duty of care.

She said the MOD did breach its duty and fell below the standards required, but not so far below that a conclusion of corporate manslaughter could be reached.