RAF suspends Hawk operations after training jet crashes in Wales

The Royal Air Force has temporarily suspended all Hawk T1 and T2 operations after two pilots ejected from a Hawk T2 shortly before it crashed near Pencarnisiog on Anglesey, North Wales, on Wednesday.

The aircraft had departed nearby RAF Valley on a training flight when it encountered difficulties and plunged to the ground, narrowly missing homes and a caravan park before bursting into flames. Both pilots’ parachutes deployed successfully, and they were taken to hospital with injuries believed to be minor. No one on the ground was injured, and no wider damage was initially reported.

Emergency services attended the scene, and firefighters brought the resulting blaze under control. Police asked the public to avoid the area while recovery and investigation work continued.

An eyewitness who watched the aircraft take off reported seeing an orange flame before it climbed steeply, pitched violently and produced two loud bangs as the pilots ejected. The cause of the accident has not been established, and the RAF has opened an investigation.

The Hawk T2 is a two-seat advanced trainer used at RAF Valley to prepare pilots for frontline combat aircraft such as the Eurofighter Typhoon. The precautionary suspension also covers the older Hawk T1, the type flown by the Red Arrows, although any effect on the display team has not yet been confirmed.