Near miss for Red Arrows shortly before bird strike at Rhyl Air Show
THE Red Arrows appeared to have another near miss shortly before a bird strike forced an emergency landing on Sunday (August 28).
New pictures show a bird flying perilously close to squadron leader Tom Bould’s (Red 1) aircraft as the team took off. The Red Arrows had used Hawarden Airport in Wales as a base for their Rhyl Air Show displays at the weekend.
Photographer Steve Ebbrell said: “Red 1, the Red Arrows leader, very nearly had a bird strike on take off. “The bird is large, and looks like a crow, it flew right across their flight path.”
Dramatic later pictures show a Red Arrows jet with a shattered windscreen – after it was hit by a bird during the Rhyl show. The plane, Red 6 piloted by Squadron Leader Gregor Ogston, was forced to cut short the display a few minutes early – after the cockpit canopy was smashed.
The ace flier peeled away from the display team and headed back to Hawarden under an ”emergency 7700 squawk transponder code” – meaning an emergency.
Rhyl, Prestatya & Abergele Journal
Related news from the BSAC News Archive
https://canadianbirdstrike.ca/cfb-trenton-crew-stuck-in-scotland/
