- Huge sea search for missing airmen after crash of ground attack jets
- The planes, based at RAF Lossiemouth, collided mid-air leading to at least two of the airmen ejecting
By Daily Mail Reporter
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Two Royal Air Force airmen are missing feared dead after two supersonic jets were involved in a mid-air collision.
The £40million Tornado GR4 warplanes crashed in thick fog during a training mission over north-east Scotland.
The fighter-bombers, each carrying a pilot and a navigator, spun out of control and plunged into the North Sea about 25 miles south of Wick.
Crash: Two RAF planes have crashed in the Moray Firth off the Scottish coast, leaving two airmen missing, feared dead, after two were picked up by a rescue helicopter (file picture)
The crew of one Tornado was plucked from the water near their stricken jet and flown by helicopter to hospital in Inverness. The condition of the casualties was not known.
A frantic search-and-rescue operation was still being carried out for the second plane amid mounting concernsit had sunk with the airmen on board.
The personnel involved in the accident, which happened about 1.50pm close to the Beatrice oilfield in the Moray Firth, were all from RAF Lossiemouth.
Group Captain Ian Gale, the station commander, said his thoughts were with the families and friends of the crews.
The pair rescused were based at RAF Lossiemouth, pictured, and have been taken to hospital in Inverness
He said: ‘It is with great regret that I must confirm the loss of two Tornado GR4 aircraft. The circumstances remain uncertain but clearly this is a very serious incident.
‘I can confirm that 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.
Statement: Group Captain Ian Gale cofirmed the loss of the jets outside the base, saying that the circumstances remained unclear
‘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.’
The Tornados were understood to be on a low-flying exercise at the time of the accident.
Military sources said that the two jets had collided during the exercise but investigators will also look at whether either plane suffered a technical malfunction or accidentally ditched into the s ea.
The huge search and rescue operation was launched by the RAF with help from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which sent a helicopter from Stornoway, and the RNLI.
Two RAF Sea King helicopters from the military base and lifeboats from Wick, Invergordon and Buckie scoured the seas around the crash site.
One crashed aircraft was spotted floating in the water, while the other was officially listed as missing.
The fact that two crewmen had been recovered with dinghys and parachutes indicated they had managed to bail out of the doomed aircraft before it struck the water.
RAF Lossiemouth is home to 617 Squadron - currently serving in Afghanistan - 12 (Bomber) Squadron and 15 (Reserve) Squadron, which trains up to 40 Tornado pilots and crew.
The two jets went down in the Moray Firth, off the north-east coast of Scotland
The Tornado GR4 is a two-seat attack aircraft which is capable of delivering a variety of bombs and missiles, including Brimstone, Paveway and Storm Shadow, has a maximum altitude of 50,000ft and a top speed of Mach 1.3.
The Tornado has been in service with the RAF since 1979 and the frontline squadrons are veterans of a string of conflicts with hundreds of hours flying experience.
It first saw combat in Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War and has since been deployed in Kosovo in 1999, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan since 2009, and last year enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya.
Tornado aircraft have been involved in at least three crashes and a string of near misses in Scotland in recent years.
An oil platform and two wind turbines in the Moray Firth, where the two aircraft went down today
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Hope the missing pilots are found safe. It sounds like the 2 planes unfortunately hit a flock of birds... Anyways, our service men and women are true hero's.
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How many millions has this cost the taxpayer ? - Stevie H, Wiltshire, UK, 3/7/2012 16:56............................ worried in case it affects your benefits ?
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I seen both those planes flying about this morning and for the past few days. Hope the pilots are found safe and well.
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I Really hope they're ok. People need to stop moaning about the cost of the RAF and realise that many men and women but their lives at risk to keep you safe day in day out and it's necessary. RAF personnel deserve nothing but respect!
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Now is not the time to post about the cost of the aircraft, political opinions or financial losses. People are missing and unaccounted for, please just take 5 minutes to think about the feelings of their families, friends, colleagues and those involved in the search and rescue operation. The desperation felt by them at this very moment in time will be immense, your opinions are trivial in comparison.
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Lets hope they are safe, the aircraft can be replaced, these lads can't - Nelsons Good Eye, Stockton on Tees, Whilst I have time for your sympathies, the aircraft CAN'T be replaced. The Panavia Tornado ceased production many years ago. Not that I think this government would care, having sold off all our Harriers to the US Marines for a pittance, leaving us with NO carrier force whatever.
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God I hope they're okay! :(
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Thick fog or not how did they manage to crash into each other with the technology on the aircraft lets hope the bad kind of fog doesn't come back during a war or we're screwed
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hope they find the airmen safe and well
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Why isn't this headline news? Total lack of respect.
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