RAF Tornado jet crash: One air crew member dead and two still missing after mid-air collision

A fourth crew member is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after the two warplanes plunged into the Moray Firth yesterday

Wreckage: Part of the plane brought to shore on the Buckie lifeboat

PA

An RAF airman has died and two others are missing feared dead after two Tornado fighter jets crashed in mid-air off the coast of Scotland yesterday.

A frantic search and rescue operation was launched after the two warplanes plunged into the Moray Firth just before 2pm.

One member of air crew died while another is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

The man who died was an officer from 15 (Reserve) Squadron, based at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray.

Two other air crew members remain unaccounted for following the crash.

There is "no expectation" of recovering the missing people alive, Group Captain Ian Gale, the station commander at the RAF base, said.

Rescue: Buckie lifeboat workers with parts of the Tornados

PA

Mid-air collision: The search for the RAF aces was called off for overnight

PA

It is thought the planes collided and the two aircrew recovered were able to eject from their Tornado before it hit the sea.

Both RAF aircraft crashed the Moray Firth about 25 miles south of Wick near the Beatrice oilfield, in ?Caithness.

RAF Lossiemouth, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Wick, Invergordon and Buckie RNLI lifeboats were involved in the initial search.

Other vessels in the area later volunteered to join the hunt for the wreckage.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed the Tornados were from RAF Lossiemouth, on the Moray coast.

Speaking yesterday, Group Captain Gale said: ?It is with great regret that I must confirm the loss of two Tornado GR4 aircraft from this station in an incident in the Moray Firth today.

?The circumstances remain uncertain but clearly this is a very serious incident.

"It involved four aircrew ? all from this station ? and the thoughts of everyone here are with the families and friends of those involved.

?I can confirm two ?individuals have been recovered and two remain unaccounted for.

?Rescue operations are continuing and I would like to record my gratitude for the ongoing efforts of all those involved.

?I am confident that the Tornado aircraft on this station are operated as safely as they possibly can be.

?However, today?s incident is a stark reminder that the military operations and training we conduct are not without risk.?

He said an investigation into the cause of the crash had been launched.

Scotland?s first minister Alex Salmond said: ?This is clearly a very serious incident and my thoughts are with the loved ones of those affected.

?I understand rescue services have done all they can to help with the situation and offer my thanks to all those involved.?

Crews: Two RAF Tornado jets fly over RAF Leuchars

Getty

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The Tornado

Developed in the 60s and 70s, the Tornado has seen almost 40 years of service.

It has been flown in thousands of sorties during military operations since 1990, including Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and most recently patrolling the no-fly zone over Libya during the civil war.

Tornado crews fly out of Lossiemouth on hundreds of training sorties every year.

RAF Lossiemouth in north Scotland is home to three of the six squadrons based in the UK ? 12 (Bomber) Squadron, 617 (Dambuster) Squadron and 15 (Reserve) Squadron.

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/raf-tornado-crash-one-man-1132555

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