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| A Red Arrows jet with its cockpit covered at RAF Scampton. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA |
Ambulance crews were called to the scene at RAF Scampton shortly after 11am this morning, after an incident involving one of the squadron's Hawk jets.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the aircraft was not airborne at the time although reports suggested the accident was “serious”.
The pilot was taken to Lincoln County Hospital.
An MoD spokesman said: "I can confirm there has been an incident at RAF Scampton. The RAF are investigating and will provide more details when they are available."
He later confirmed that the pilot had died from multiple injuries sustained during the accident, thought to have involved his being ejected from the cockpit while his jet was still on the ground, before his parachute failed to deploy.
A jet with a smashed front canopy could be seen on the tarmac outside the RAF hangar at the base, it was claimed.
The incident followed the death of Red Arrows pilot Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging, 33, who was killed in an air show crash near Bournemouth Airport in Dorset in August.
Flt Lt Egging's wife, Dr Emma Egging, watched her husband perform with the Red Arrows just minutes before the accident.
Eyewitnesses described seeing the aircraft flying low before smashing into a field and coming to a standstill with its nose in the River Stour near the village of Throop.
The RAF temporarily halted flying of all 126 of its Hawk T1 training jets while preliminary investigations were carried out into the cause of the tragedy.
Hundreds of RAF servicemen and women joined Flt Lt Egging's family and friends at a packed memorial service for the popular pilot in Lincoln Cathedral last week.
The Red Arrows have used the dual control BAE Systems Hawk T1, which has a top speed of Mach 1.2, since 1979.
Hawk T1s are also used for training fast-jet pilots at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales, and RAF Leeming, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire.
The Red Arrows completed their final display of the season in September and are currently carrying out their winter training at RAF Scampton, during which each pilot flies three times a day, five days a week, beginning with small formations of three or four aircraft.
Every sortie is filmed from the ground and discussed in great detail once the pilots are back on the ground.
Source: The Telegraph
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