Two Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots ejected from a Hawk T2 training jet moments after take-off on Wednesday, September 23, as the aircraft crashed near Pencarnisiog on Anglesey, close to RAF Valley in north Wales. Both survived, with North Wales Police reporting what appeared to be only minor injuries. The RAF has grounded all Hawk T1 and T2 flying as a precaution while investigators work.
The jet had just left RAF Valley on a training flight with two trainee pilots on board. Footage shows it bobbing at low speed with its nose raised sharply before the crew ejected and parachuted down. The aircraft appeared to narrowly clear nearby homes before striking open countryside and bursting into flames, sending thick black smoke over the area. HM Coastguard and Wales Air Ambulance helicopters joined ground crews at the scene, and North Wales Fire and Rescue Service brought the blaze under control. Police said there were no reports of wider damage or additional injuries.
The RAF hasn’t offered a technical explanation yet, saying only that an investigation is underway and it won’t comment further for now. But early footage is fuelling speculation. BBC security analyst Mikey Kay shared video, filmed from outside the airfield fence, showing flames at the rear of the jet as it sped down the runway. He noted the Hawk T2 has no afterburner — the usual explanation for visible flame on take-off in many fast jets — and pointed out that the aircraft’s main hydraulic system sits on the rear left side. Reports suggest the flames came from the side of the jet rather than the exhaust, and one witness said the aircraft was on fire as it accelerated.
The Defence Accident Investigation Branch typically leads inquiries of this kind, and a Service Inquiry may follow, examining wreckage, flight data, maintenance records, and interviews with both pilots.
This isn’t the Hawk T2’s first brush with trouble. The RAF pulled engines from service in 2022 over failure concerns, then grounded its entire 28-strong Hawk T2 fleet in January 2023 following an engine-related incident at Valley. In 2024, then-Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said he wanted the jet replaced, citing engine problems, weak support, and doubts about its training reliability. Back in January 2019, a malfunctioning Hawk T2 veered toward two other jets during a formation take-off at Valley; the pilot aborted safely, and the RAF suspended formation take-offs for a time afterward.
Valley’s history runs deeper still. In March 2018, a Red Arrows Hawk T1 crashed less than two minutes after take-off — pilot Flight Lieutenant David Stark ejected half a second before impact and survived, but engineer Corporal Jonathan Bayliss, 41, was killed. An inquest later found the jet had stalled mid-air during a practice engine-failure exercise. In March 2021, two Royal Navy pilots ejected from a Hawk T1 near RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall and survived, again prompting a temporary pause in Hawk T1 flying. Further back, Red Arrows pilot Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging died in a 2011 crash near Bournemouth, and pilot Sean Cunningham died that November when his ejection seat fired while his jet was still on the ground.
RAF Valley is home to No 4 Flying Training School, which prepares pilots for frontline aircraft including the Typhoon and F-35; Royal Navy pilots also train on the Hawk T2 before moving to operational jets. That makes this crash a hit to a key link in Britain’s fast-jet training pipeline.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said his thoughts were first and foremost with the pilots and promised further updates. Helen Jenner, Reform UK’s leader in Wales and a local Senedd member, said she was deeply concerned and sent her thoughts to the crew, their families, and everyone at the base.
The Ministry of Defence signed a £450 million deal for 28 Hawk T2s back in October 2006; the jet’s glass cockpit was designed to mirror modern fighters like the Typhoon. The crash comes as the MoD searches for a Hawk successor, with the RAF planning to retire the T2 by 2040. For now, the Hawks at Valley remain grounded as investigators try to explain why the jet appeared to catch fire on the runway — an answer residents near Pencarnisiog will be waiting for too.