Sean Cunningham was ejected while performing pre-flight checks at RAF Scampton in 2011

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A leading ejector seat manufacturer has been fined £1.1m after the death of a Red Arrows pilot.

Flt Lt Sean Cunningham fell 200ft after being ejected from his Hawk T1 aircraft while conducting pre-flight checks on the ground at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire on 8 November 2011.

The parachute on the Mark 10B seat did not deploy and the South African-born airman fell to his death in what a judge called “an entirely preventable tragedy”.

Fellow pilots later described their horror as they saw the 35-year-old falling to the ground with the seat still strapped to his back. An investigation found a crucial bolt had been over-tightened.

The Middlesex-based company Martin-Baker Aircraft admitted failing to ensure the safety of non-employees at a hearing in January into Cunningham’s death.

At Lincoln crown court on Friday, the firm was fined £1.1m, having already agreed to pay £550,000 in prosecution costs.

The judge, Mrs Justice Carr, said: “A significant number of pilots, and also potential passengers, were exposed to the risk of harm over a lengthy period.

“Here the risk of harm was of the highest level, death. Martin-Baker Aircraft Company fell short of the appropriate standard.

“This was, in the words of his father, an entirely preventable tragedy.”

Opening the case in a two-day sentencing hearing in early February, the prosecutor, Rex Tedd, said the firm had put many pilots at risk. “If the pilot was ejected from the Hawk aircraft, two shackles would not release from one another and would jam together and the main parachute would not deploy,” he said.

“The pilot would be several hundred feet in the air and there could only be one result of that, and that is the pilot’s death.”

Reading a victim impact statement on behalf of Cunningham’s family, Carr said: “Sean’s two biggest fears in life were being ejected from an aircraft and the injuries that would be sustained, and dying at a young age.

“He was to tragically experience both of these. He was the perfect son and brother and the pride in him from the family is justifiably immense.”

Martin-Baker Aircraft describes itself as the “world’s leading manufacturer of ejection and crashworthy seats”.

In a statement, the firm said: “Our thoughts remain foremost with the family and friends of Flt Lt Sean Cunningham, to whom the company conveys its sadness, regret and apology.

“This tragic accident was the result of an inadvertent ejection and main parachute deployment failure due to the over-tightening of the drogue shackle bolt. In November 2017, the HSE confirmed that the inadvertent ejection was not caused by any fault attributable to the company.”

Cunningham’s family criticised the Ministry of Defence and the RAF, and questioned why neither was represented in court.

In a statement issued by Cunningham’s sister Nicolette, the family said: “Sean was so proud to be a member of the armed forces and to serve his country. He was the perfect ambassador for your organisation. He gave you his all and ultimately gave his life.

“Sean’s death was not an accident. It was a preventable death waiting to happen and we don’t believe it was an isolated incident. We acknowledge the fine issued to Martin-Baker today, a tiny percentage of its profits. No amount of money will bring our son back or relieve our pain.”

