RAF Hawk jet crash: What video footage reveals about pilot ejection and aircraft failure

Two RAF pilots ejected from their Hawk T2 training jet moments before it crashed and erupted in flames near the village of Pencarnisiog in Wales on September 23rd. The aircraft had just taken off from RAF Valley on the island of Anglesey when something went wrong during the initial climb. Both pilots parachuted to safety and were treated for minor injuries by North Wales Police. Video footage captured the dramatic moment of their escape and the aircraft's violent impact with the ground below.

The RAF has temporarily halted all Hawk training as a precautionary measure while investigators work to determine what caused the malfunction. The pause affects both the newer Hawk T2 variant and the older T1 model, which is also flown by the Red Arrows aerobatic team. The restriction will remain in place until the investigation concludes, though no timeline has been announced.

Raf Valley, situated on Anglesey, serves as a hub for both basic and advanced fast-jet pilot training. The base sits within one of twenty designated low-flying training areas across the United Kingdom, positioned strategically to give trainee pilots access to varied terrain for instrument flying, formation work, and low-level maneuvers. The surrounding landscape—including the Mach Loop, a series of valleys between Dolgellau and Machynlleth that attract aviation photographers—makes the location ideal for the demanding work of advanced jet instruction.

The Hawk T2 is a two-seat training aircraft built by BAe Systems, designed with controls similar to the Typhoon fighter jet that RAF pilots will eventually fly operationally. It features an advanced glass cockpit and is used for the most demanding stages of fast-jet training. Unlike some military jets, the Hawk has no afterburner system—no secondary combustion that would produce the characteristic orange flames seen on aircraft like the F-18 or Tornado.

Video footage of the incident, shared by former RAF pilot Mikey Kay, reveals something unusual. Flames are visible rising from the rear of the jet as it rolls down the runway and begins to climb. But these flames appear to originate from the side of the engine housing, not from the engine exhaust itself. Kay noted that flames should never appear from a Hawk under normal circumstances. The location of the flames—near where the main hydraulics system sits—suggests the problem may not have been engine failure at all, though it remains too early for definitive conclusions.

The two pilots had limited options for escape once they recognized the emergency. In a T2, pilots can eject individually by pulling a black and yellow ring positioned between their legs, or one pilot can trigger command ejection, which fires both seats in sequence with the rear occupant departing first. Either way, the process begins with a miniature detonation cord—a thin explosive line—that shatters the canopy in milliseconds. The ejection seats themselves are engineered to function even at zero speed and zero altitude, giving pilots enough time for their parachutes to deploy before impact.

Kay described the successful ejection as "quite remarkable" and called the ejection seat "one of the big lifesavers in this whole story." He noted that this appears to be the first known case of a T2 variant successfully ejecting both pilots from the aircraft, underscoring both the rarity of such emergencies and the effectiveness of the safety systems when they are needed. The safety record of these jets, he emphasized, remains very good. The investigation now focuses on what triggered the emergency in the first place—a question that will likely take weeks or months to answer as engineers examine the wreckage and flight data.