Ejector seat manufacturer fined more than £1m after Red Arrows death

An ejector seat manufacturer has been fined more than £1m following the death of a pilot from the RAF’s world famous Red Arrows aerobatics team.

Lincoln Crown Court heard that the ejection seat used by Flt Lt Sean Cunningham as he tried to evacuate from his Hawk aircraft had been made by Martin Baker Aircraft Company.

Flt Lt Cunningham, who was from Coventry, died from injuries sustained in the incident, which happened on November 8, 2011 as the Red Arrows team was preparing to take off from their home base at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that a mechanical fault led to the failure of the parachute deployment mechanism designed to bring the 35-year-old pilot to the ground safely. This resulted in the main parachute failing to deploy.

Flt Lt Cunningham suffered multiple serious injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after being airlifted to hospital.
A number of inquiries took place after the incident, including a police investigation, a Ministry of Defence investigation and an inquest.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) worked alongside Lincolnshire Police, the coroner, and the military investigators during the inquiries.

HSE inspectors found that in the 1990s two aircraft manufacturers had made Martin Baker Aircraft Company aware of issues with the drogue and scissor shackles, designed to deploy the main parachute for the ejection seat mechanism. The design of the component was such that at zero speed and zero altitude the ejection seat could fail to operate as intended.

Martin Baker Aircraft Company, of Lower Road, Higher Denham, Middlesex pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations.

It was find £1,1m and ordered to pay costs of £550,000.

HSE Operations Manager Harvey Wild said: “Our investigation found that Martin Baker Aircraft Company failed to take all reasonably practicable steps to protect users from the risk of harm after it was told of concerns regarding the shackles which deployed the main parachute.

“The death of Sean Cunningham was therefore avoidable. Our thoughts are with his family, who are both devastated by these appalling events and proud of Sean for fulfilling his ambition of becoming a pilot with the Red Arrows.

“We understand that a great deal of time has passed since this tragic event. However, this was an extremely complex investigation and no prosecution could be initiated until after the inquest and other inquiries had concluded.

“We would like to publicly thank Sean’s family for their patience and support throughout.”

Speaking afterwards, the company said its thoughts remained with the family and friends of Flt Lt Cunningham, to whom it conveyed its “sadness, regret and apology”.

It added: “This tragic accident was the result of an inadvertent ejection and main parachute deployment failure due to the over-tightening of the drogue shackle bolt.

“In November 2017, the HSE confirmed that the inadvertent ejection was not caused by any fault attributable to the company. Upon receiving clarification of the HSE’s case, the company accepted a breach of s.3(1) of the Health & Safety At Work Act 1974, on the basis that it failed to provide a written warning to the RAF not to over-tighten the drogue shackle bolt.

“Martin-Baker’s ethos has always been to design and manufacture the highest quality ejection seats and that the maintenance should be carried out to the highest possible standards, under effective supervision and by regularly trained and qualified personnel.”

It added that it had designed and manufactured ejection seats for 73 years and in that time they had been used by 92 air forces.

“Our seats have saved the lives of 1,050 RAF and Royal Navy aircrew with a further 6,510 aircrew lives saved around the world,” it said.

“We appreciate that both the Judge and the Health & Safety Executive, during this process, has acknowledged our dedication and track record in saving lives.”

The Hawk aircraft is manufactured by BAE Systems in Preston.

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