RAF Hawk jet crashes in the United Kingdom

April 20, 2007

An RAF Hawk training jet has crashed at Mona Airfield on Anglesey Island in the United Kingdom. The crash occurred at 12:25 p.m. local time.

The pilot is reported to have ejected prior to the crash. No injuries are reported at this time.

"I can confirm that a Hawk aircraft has crashed at RAF Mona, which is a small satellite airfield connected to RAF Valley. One person was on board but we do not know the extent of the pilot's injuries at this time," said spokesman for RAF Valley, Squadron Leader Mark Byrne.

According to the U.K.'s Defense Ministry, the aircraft carries up to two pilots, but only one was on board the plane at the time of the crash.

The plane was put into service in 1976 for flying and weapons training. The T1 version of the Hawk is for training pilots in fast flying at an advanced level and the T1A Hawk is designed to train pilots to use weapons at an advanced level. It is also the aircraft used by the Red Arrows RAF display team.

Search and rescue personnel are on their way to the scene and an investigation is being launched. The wreckage of the plane is said to be in two pieces. It is not known what caused the crash.

"We will not speculate about the cause of the accident as an investigation will be carried out to establish what has happened," added Byrne.