Two rescued after RAF jet crashes in sea
Published: October 15, 2005
TWO airmen were rescued last night after they ejected from an RAF tornado seconds before the jet crashed into the North Sea.
The pilot and navigator were found in a life raft in St Andrews Bay and taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee within an hour of the crash.
The £20 million jet got into difficulty soon after taking off from RAF Leuchars in Fife and went down at 5:45pm, said the Ministry of Defence.
The men were found at 6:20pm after two lifeboats and two helicopters scoured the area where the aircraft went down, about ten miles south-east of Leuchars. The Forth coastguard was alerted by a member of the public who saw the plane go down.
One of the crew is understood to have a leg injury, and both men will be transferred to Nottingham Hospital today to assess any potential back injuries caused by the pressure of ejection.
An MoD spokesman said: “An F3 Tornado from RAF Leuchars got into difficulty soon after take-off. The two crew, a pilot and navigator, have now been rescued.”
The jet was on a training exercise when it crashed. A specialist aircraft recovery team from South Wales was on its way to Scotland last night to salvage the plane and learn the cause of the accident.
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