RAF grounds Red Arrows and Typhoons

RAF halts all non-essential flying for inspection of possible glitch that could affect safe operation of jets

Red Arrows teams were yesterday grounded by the RAF to investigate safety concerns around ejector seats. The RAF announced it was suspending all non-essential flights of Typhoon and Red Arrows aircraft as a precaution to allow engineers to inspect a “technical issue”. Defence chiefs insisted Typhoon operations to protect UK and Nato airspace will not be affected. Jets were grounded on the final day of the Farnborough International Airshow yesterday.

RED Arrow teams were yesterday grounded by the RAF to investigate safety concerns around ejector seats.

The RAF announced it was suspending all non-essential flying of Typhoons and Red Arrows as a precaution to allow engineers to inspect a “technical issue”.

Jets were grounded on the final day of the Farnborough International Airshow yesterday with planned flypasts this weekend now in doubt.

Defence chiefs insisted Typhoon operations to protect UK and Nato airspace will not be affected.

An RAF spokesman said: “We have been notified of a technical issue which may affect the safe operation of our ejector seats in Typhoons and the Red Arrows. We have paused non-essential flying until the situation is better understood. This is a temporary precaution to maximise safety while our engineers carry out a technical investigation.

“Operational and essential flying will continue, so we will meet all our commitments to protecting UK and NATO airspace.”

While the Red Arrow jets are only used to provide aerobatic displays, the Typhoons are tasked with the protection of the UK and Nato airspace.

Last week, Boris Johnson took to the skies in a Typhoon at RAF Coningsby.

The Prime Minister was given a demonstration of the fighter jet by the pilots and air crews at the Lincolnshire RAF base.

The RAF has declined to go into any further detail about the exact problem they discovered with the ejector seats.

The decision meant the Red Arrows had to cancel their flypast at Farnborough where eager spectators had gathered to watch a scheduled display at 12.30pm.

Farnborough Airshow is one of the world’s biggest aerospace and defence trade shows and although the five-day event usually takes place every two years, the coronavirus pandemic meant this year was the first time it has been held since 2018.

The Red Arrows were set for a busy schedule with planned displays at the Making Waves Festival in Irvine, Scotland, today, and at the Bray Air Display in Ireland on Sunday.

A further 15 displays are booked to take place in August at various air shows across the country, including on four consecutive days at the Eastbourne International Airshow. The Daily Telegraph understands that a timeframe for when the non-essential flights may resume is still being determined by the RAF and that they will only do so once safety has been assured.

In 2018, one of the world’s leading ejector seat manufacturers was fined £1.1 million for a breach of health and safety law that led to the death of a Red Arrow pilot.

Flt Lt Sean Cunningham died after his ejector seat accidentally went off during pre-flight checks in 2011.