Crews safe after RAF helicopter and fighter crash

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The crew of two RAF aircraft escaped unhurt today after separate but costly crashes.

The crew of two RAF aircraft escaped unhurt today after separate but costly crashes.

Five people on a hi-tech Merlin helicopter were rescued after it ditched into the sea off Scotland's west coast at 10am.

And an hour later, a pilot ejected safely when his Jaguar fighter plane crashed near the Scottish town of Lockerbie after apparently flying through a flock of birds.

The Merlin came down at 10am in the sea between mainland Scotland and the Isle of Skye during sonar equipment trials. Coastguards picked up the crew after a Mayday signal was received.

It was the first crash involving one of the new £28m Merlin helicopters, which were introduced last year to replace the Sea King.

One crew member on board was airlifted to the Western Isles Hospital on Lewis with back injuries.

His four colleagues were taken to Mackinnon Hospital at Broadford, Skye, for tests after sustaining minor injuries. Two were released this afternoon after treatment.

The Ministry of Defence announced it would be holding a full investigation into what caused the Merlin to crash.

In July this year sunbathers on a beach at Worthing, West Sussex, narrowly missed being hit by a 3ft panel which fell from a Merlin on its way back from an airshow in Belgium.

The second crash today at Shieldhill, near Lockerbie, involved a Jaguar fighter bomber from RAF Coltishall in Norfolk.

The pilot was the only person on board when it came down at 10.52am in a field five miles north-east of Dumfries.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary as a precaution.

The Jaguar fighter planes are worth up to £20m, according to experts at Jane's Defence Weekly.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "An investigation is taking place at the scene of the accident, after which we will remove the wreckage to Coltishall for further investigations."

Motorists driving on the nearby Lochmaben to Shieldhill road said the pilot told them he had flown into a flock of birds.

Local farmer John Kerr said he was feeding cattle in a shed at his Lochmaben farm, just 300 yards away, when the Jaguar came down.

He said: "I got the shock of my life when I heard the explosion and ran outside. I saw the smoke and I knew then what had happened.

"I saw the pilot coming down with the parachute and he is all right, although he was as badly shocked as I was.

"The cows were inside at the time but the young stock were in the field where the jet came down. It's a miracle none of the animals were injured."

Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, today called for a full investigation into the Merlin crash.

He said: "This new generation helicopter will be vital for the capability of the Royal Navy for a long time to come. It is essential that we have a full investigation.

"The Royal Navy cannot afford to have a helicopter which is not up to the job."