Log in to your IBTimes Account

close
ID
Password

Crashed RAF Tornado dead named



03 July 2009 @ 06:08 pm BST

LONDON - The two crew of an RAF Tornado jet who were killed when their plane crashed during a routine training flight in Scotland were named by the Ministry of Defence on Friday.


A Royal Air Force rescue helicopter flies in the valley near to the crash site of a Royal Air Force Tornado jet near Arracher in Argyll, Scotland
A Royal Air Force rescue helicopter flies in the valley near to the crash site of a Royal Air Force Tornado jet near Arracher in Argyll, Scotland July 2, 2009.
1 of 1

The MoD said pilot Flt. Lt. Kenneth Thompson, 27, from the Glasgow area, and weapons systems officer Flt. Lt. Nigel Morton, 43, died in the accident on Thursday.

The two crew, from 43 Squadron based at RAF Leuchars in Fife, were flying in a Tornado F3 when it came down at Glen Kinglas, Argyll, near Loch Lomond.

An investigation is underway into what caused the crash at the scenic tourist spot.

Paying tribute to the men, Wing Commander David Hazell, 43 Squadron's commanding officer, said their deaths were a huge loss to the squadron and the Tornado F3 Force as a whole.

"However, it is nothing compared to that suffered by their families. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this dreadful time," he said.

One local resident said he had seen two Tornados flying low in the area shortly before the crash.

"We get jets flying over here on training exercises quite regularly. It's not unusual to see them and you definitely hear them," he told the BBC at the time.

"But today (Thursday) they seemed to be flying much lower than normal."

(Reporting by Stefano Ambrogi; Editing by Michael Holden)

© 2010 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Click!
  • Rate this article:

advertisement
advertisement
 
 
IBTimes © 2012 IBTimes Company. All Rights Reserved. Partners