Cambridgeshire Plane Crash

[backontrack]

US Navy pilot killed in F-18 jet crash in Cambridgeshire Fens
2 minutes ago
A US Navy pilot has died in an F-18 jet crash in the Fens in Cambridgeshire, close to an RAF base.

The hornet crashed on farm land in Redmere, near Ely, close to the Suffolk border, with the alarm raised at 10:30 BST.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed the pilot, the only crew member, died.
The aircraft had taken off from RAF Lakenheath, but was not connected to the base.

Follow live updates here.

It crashed four miles from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk.

Amateur aviation enthusiast Roger Smith told BBC Radio Suffolk that the F-18 was one of a...

Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-34593948

Thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased.
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UPDATE: Confirmation of a fatality by Ely Standard editor John Elworthy (on Twitter).

Sadly we have to confirm fatality after jet crash this morning in the Fens. We had held back the information pending confirmation
12:35 PM - 21 Oct 2015

 

[deltic1989]

A very tragic accident, and my thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of the pilot.
An investigation is underway, so speculation would be unwise, however I can't helpo wondering what happened to bring down what seems to be a very safe aircraft, this being only the Fifth major accident involving the F/A 18, in 32 years of service.

 

[ainsworth74]

I have heard unconfirmed reports of trouble with at least one of the two jet engines shortly after take-off.

 

[Johnuk123]

I didn't realise that this unfortunate pilot had ejected but it appears he did although maybe too late after attempting to avoid crashing into houses.


http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/fig...ash-near-RAF/story-28040188-detail/story.html

A US pilot who died on the Cambridgeshire and Suffolk border after their plane crashed to the ground in a "ball of fire" has been named.
Major Taj Sareen, 34, with the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, was killed when his FA-18 Hornet came down in Redmere, near Shippea Hill and halfway between Ely and Lakenheath at about 10.30am on Wednesday.

Patrick Turner, 72, of Redmere, said: "I was outside in my shed and heard an aircraft coming over.
"All of a sudden all hell broke loose. The noise was terrible – I've never heard that before. I looked up to the sky but it was so foggy.
"The pilot bailed out and I saw the parachute coming down."

 

[Murph]

I didn't realise that this unfortunate pilot had ejected but it appears he did although maybe too late after attempting to avoid crashing into houses.


http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/fig...ash-near-RAF/story-28040188-detail/story.html

It's hard to be certain without a much more detailed account of the incident, but there shouldn't be such a thing as "too late" to eject from a F/A-18, as long as it's possible to get the aircraft "near level" for ejection. It has a "zero/zero" ejection seat, i.e. speed and altitude are irrelevant as long as you can eject relatively close to upwards: http://www.martin-baker.com/products/ejection-seats/mk14

The report above has witnesses describing seeing a parachute, so it should really have been survivable. The crash was fairly close to Martin Baker's HQ, so I've no doubt they will be part of the investigation and keen to find out what went wrong with their part of it (if anything).