(VIDEO) Two RAF Pilots Eject With Minor Injuries After Hawk T2 Crashes Near Valley on Anglesey

ANGLESEY, Wales — Two Royal Air Force pilots ejected from a Hawk T2 training jet that crashed shortly after takeoff from RAF Valley on Wednesday, police and the air force said.

North Wales Police said the crew of the T2 Hawk were being treated for what were thought to be minor injuries after the aircraft came down in the Pencarnisiog area of Anglesey. The force said there were no reports of wider damage or other injuries and asked the public to stay away. Helicopters from the Coastguard and the Wales Air Ambulance were sent to the scene near the base. BBC Wales reported the pilots were taken to Birmingham for treatment, where two air ambulances later landed at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, home of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine.

A Royal Air Force spokesperson said: "An incident involving an RAF T2 Hawk aircraft, flying out of RAF Valley, occurred near Anglesey. An investigation is underway and we will not comment further at this time."

Video circulated on social media, including a clip posted by Breaking911, showed a training jet in trouble after leaving the runway. Eyewitnesses described fire on takeoff, two bangs consistent with ejection seats, and orange parachutes.

Pete Bennett told North Wales Live he watched the aircraft leave the ground. "I knew straight away that it was in trouble – right on take-off there was an orange flame and as it accelerated it was basically on fire," he said. "As it gained altitude the flame disappeared but it was clearly in trouble. It climbed at an aggressive pitch... It pitched twice violently in the air and then there were two clear loud bangs. The pilots ejected and both parachutes opened."

In a longer account carried by The Aviationist, Bennett said the jet "rolled to starboard and then slowly descended and crashed maybe a mile, hopefully in a field. There was a huge wall of fire and black smoke. The aircrew came down around half way between the runway and where the plane crashed, which I'm guessing was around a mile inland from RAF Valley."

A North Wales Police spokesman said: "Local officers are currently in attendance to reports of an incident involving an RAF training aircraft in the Pencarnisiog area of Anglesey, alongside colleagues from the Royal Air Force, North Wales Fire and Rescue Services, Welsh Ambulance Service University Health Trust and Helimed. Two pilots are being treated for what are thought to be minor injuries and at this stage there are no reports of any wider damage or injuries. Please avoid the area until further notice."

BBC Wales quoted Defence Secretary Wes Streeting on X: "An investigation is under way. My thoughts are first and foremost with the pilots. We will provide further updates in due course."

RAF Valley, on the west coast of Anglesey, is the home of No. 4 Flying Training School and the Hawk T2 fleet used to train fast-jet pilots before they move to types such as the Typhoon and F-35. The Prince of Wales was based there as a search-and-rescue pilot from 2010 to 2013. The Hawk T2 is a two-seat advanced trainer built by BAE Systems.

Police and the RAF have not named the crew or said whether they were instructors, students or a mixed pair. Liverpool Echo cited The Telegraph as reporting the jet was believed to have been flown by trainee crew. Official statements did not confirm that.

Cause was not announced. Investigators typically examine engines, flight data, maintenance records and the takeoff path. Witnesses described flame on the roll and a violent pitch before ejection. Those observations are not findings.

The wreckage burned in a field. Images showed a smoke column. Aviation outlets said a Jupiter HT1 helicopter from Valley was airborne after the crash, consistent with search-and-rescue practice at the station. Fire crews worked the site. Police kept roads clear.

Hawk T2 ejections are uncommon enough that they trigger a formal inquiry. The seats did what they are designed to do: get two people out before the airframe hit. Police described the injuries as thought to be minor. Transfer to Birmingham puts them at the military medicine center used for service personnel.

RAF Valley sits close to villages and the coast. A crash a mile inland still puts metal and fire near homes. Officers said no one on the ground was reported hurt. That is the first public measure of how the afternoon ended, not a final accident report.

The air force limited its comment to the type, the base and the fact of an investigation. Until that inquiry reports, the public record is a Hawk T2 out of Valley, two parachutes, a field fire, and two pilots under care.