Two people were onboard Hawk aircraft when it went down shortly before 1.30pm on Tuesday

A Royal Air Force engineer has died after a Red Arrows jet crashed at RAF Valley in north Wales, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The pilot of the Hawk aircraft survived and is receiving medical treatment following what the RAF described as a “tragic accident” at around 1.30pm on Tuesday.

The plane is understood to have crashed shortly after take-off as it was heading to the Red Arrows base at RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire. It had been carrying out simulation training on the north Wales coast.

Group captain Nick Tucker-Lowe said in a statement: “It’s with great sadness that the RAF can confirm the death of an engineer from the RAF aerobatics team The Red Arrows in a tragic accident today.

“The engineer’s family have been informed and have asked for a 24-hour period of grace before further details are released.”

North Wales police is leading an investigation into the crash, which is believed to be the first fatality involving serving Red Arrows personnel since Flt Lt Sean Cunningham died after he was ejected from his Hawk T1 aircraft on 8 November 2011.

Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of the RAF engineer at this incredibly sad time.”

Air chief marshall Sir Stephen Hilier, chief of the air staff, said in a statement: “This tragic accident is a reminder that we must never take for granted the risks our people take in the service of our country. My deepest thoughts are with the friends and family of those involved at this terrible time.”



Witnesses said the Red Arrows jet appeared “off-skew” before it crashed into a “fireball” on the runway of RAF Valley, where training takes place for mountain and maritime operations.



Rob Jones, the manager of nearby Anglesey golf club, said his customers had seen a parachute eject from the plane before it crashed on the runway.

“I heard an almighty bang. It sounded like a cannon going off. I don’t know if that’s from the ejector seat, but some of the golfers saw a parachute,” he told the Guardian.

“I’m overlooking the runway now from about [a] quarter of a mile away. I heard a bang and I went to the door, and all I could see was plumes of black smoke coming up. Now the runway is covered in emergency services. There’s a couple of ambulances, I think one’s an air ambulance, a couple of police cars.”

Jones said he had seen the plane flying in the area for a couple of days and Red Arrows planes would occasionally use RAF Valley, which is on the west coast of Anglesey near Holy Island.

Anne Wilson, who works at the golf club, said she saw a “big fireball and lots of smoke” after the plane went down. “I did not see the crash but I heard a very loud noise. We are used to the planes going over but this was unusual,” she said.

“They said the plane came in quite steeply and they saw a pilot eject, but that it was very low to the ground when they ejected.”

Nearby residents said they heard a loud explosion followed by a huge plume of black smoke after the aircraft went down.

Dilys Roberts, who lives near RAF Valley, said her husband had seen the plane just before it crashed. “He saw this plane coming round and it looked off-skew – it didn’t look normal, put it that way – then the next thing we heard was this really loud explosion,” she said.

“He ran up the bank and could see the black smoke. He saw the plane circling and it was coming in to land, but it didn’t look normal. We thought it just didn’t look right. He just heard this massive explosion and we think it’s crashed on the runway.”

A spokeswoman for the Welsh ambulance service said it had sent the air ambulance and an emergency ambulance to the scene.