Jet crew had ‘problems landing’

Tornado jet genericThe crewmen ejected from their Tornado GR4 jet
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The Ministry of Defence has begun an investigation after a Tornado crew was forced to eject from their aircraft during landing at RAF Lossiemouth.

The RAF confirmed the two crewmen ejected safely during the incident, shortly after 1700 GMT on Thursday.

The two crew were taken to hospital but are thought to have escaped serious injury.

On 27 January two crew members from RAF Lossiemouth ejected from another Tornado before it crashed into the sea.

That crew was forced to crash north west of Gairloch after the plane caught fire at 6,000ft (1,800m).

The men involved in the latest incident were taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “An incident has occurred involving an aircraft at Lossiemouth.

“The good news is that the crew ejected safely.

“They are in hospital where they are undergoing routine medical checks.”

RAF Lossiemouth, on the Moray Firth coast, is home to three squadrons of Tornado GR4s.

The Tornado GR4 is a two-seat attack aircraft, capable of delivering a variety of weapons and reaching a maximum altitude of 50,000ft (15,240m).

In July 2009 a pilot and navigator were killed when their Tornado crashed into a hillside in Argyll.

That aircraft was a RAF Leuchars-based Tornado F3 on a routine flight.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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