Red Arrows Pilot tells inquest of 'eternal regret' he could not save engineer passenger

A Red Arrows pilot has told an inquest that he lives with "eternal regret" that he could not eject an engineer passenger from his plane before it crashed in 2018.

Corporal Jonathan Bayliss, 41, died when the Hawk T1 jet he was in crashed into the runway at RAF Valley in Anglesey, but pilot Flight Lieutenant David Stark survived after ejecting moments earlier.

An investigation found the plane had stalled and crashed during a training manoeuvre designed to simulate an engine failure.

Giving evidence at an inquest in Caernarfon on Wednesday, Flt Lt Stark said he had not realised the plane was stalling and added he takes "no pride in having survived".

Flt Lt Stark said he did not know how serious the situation was until it was nearly too late for him to eject himself.

He said: "I quite clearly did not perceive the situation that was developing until the point at which it was as though there was the flick of a switch from 'This is OK' to 'This is absolutely categorically not OK and something needs to be done'."

The inquest has heard that the systems in the jet did not allow the pilot in the front seat to control the ejection of the rear seat passenger.

Flt Lt Stark said: "It is obviously my eternal regret that the command ejection system is not operated the other way round, in that if I had pulled the handle I could have taken Jon out as well."

Corporal Jonathan Bayliss joined the RAF in 2001 and in early 2018 was promoted to the Circus team, a small group of highly trained engineers who travel with the Red Arrows and provide technical support away from its base.

Describing the moments leading up to the crash, the pilot explained that he did not give the usual command of "Eject, eject, eject".

He said: "My recollection is that the flick of a switch happened and that I recognised that we needed to eject immediately.

"I recall saying a swearword and then 'Eject'.

"I didn't say 'Eject' more than once, from what I can remember. I think my instinct at the time, and I think this has effectively been confirmed in the report, is that if I'd said 'Eject' twice I probably wouldn't have survived.

"I take no pride in having survived. All I can describe is I perceived that the aircraft was going to crash and, to a degree, instinct took over."

Flt Lt Stark appeared emotional as he gave his condolences to the family of Corporal Bayliss and his partner, Jemma Pidgeon.

He added: "I'd like to take the opportunity to express my profound sorrow at the loss of Jon and the impact it has had on his family, Miss Pidgeon and his friends.

"I hope that this process will enable them to get some answers to what I imagine are many questions relating to the accident."

The pilot was knocked unconscious after ejecting from the plane and fractured his right femur.

He told the inquest that he had only started flying again in the last three month since the accident.

The Service Inquiry Panel report found his routine did not include "sufficient time for rest", which was a contributory factor in the crash.

Flt Lt Stark told the inquest: "I don't think it's possible to conduct winter training with the Red Arrows without it fatiguing you."

The inquest is expected to last until Friday.