Red Arrows flight ban after ejector seat death

The Ministry of Defence has suspended training flights in aircraft with ejector seats similar to the one in which a Red Arrows pilot was killed this week. Flight Lieutenant Sean Cunningham, 35, a veteran of the Iraq war, died after being ejected from his Hawk T1 jet while on the ground at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire on Tuesday.

In August, Red Arrows Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging, 33, was killed in an air-show crash in Dorset. Other aircraft with the Martin Baker Mk 10 seats include RAF Tornado GR4 attack jets, now flying missions in Afghanistan. They will still operate, but some training flights will be cancelled.