The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Inquest into pilot’s death told of ‘useless’ pins
A CORONER yesterday slammed safety pins in an ejector seat as “useless”, as he criticised a manufacturer for failing to warn the RAF of defects which led to the death of a Red Arrows pilot.
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 RA F Scampton on November 8 2011.
The South A frican-born pilot stayed attached to his seat and fell unrestrained by the main parachute to the ground. He suffered non-survivable injuries.
Recording a narrative verdict into the death yesterday, Central Lincolnshire coroner Stuart Fisher criticised manufacturer Martin Baker for failing to inform the RA F of risks associated with the seat.
The inquest, in Lincoln, heard the ejection seat firing handle had been left in an unsafe position, which meant it could accidentally activate the seat. Mr Fisher said the safety pin mechanism was “entirely useless” and “likely to mislead”.
However, the coroner noted the failure of the handle should not have proved fatal as the parachute should have opened when Flt Lt Cunningham was ejected.
Mr Fisher also criticised Martin Baker for a “serious failure of communication” relating to known risks associated with over-tightening of crucial nuts and bolts which could “hinder or prevent” the deployment of the main parachute.
Lawyers acting for the family yesterday confirmed it had secured an undisclosed settlement from the Ministry of Defence in December 2013, after a full admission of liability for the incident in July that year.
Mr Fisher made two recommendations — that Martin Baker and the MoD reach a design solution in aircraft ejection seats to prevent the strapping-in process impacting on the safety of the seat and Martin Baker introduce a new process for the urgent distribution of safety information.
A fter the 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.”