RAF test pilot death: Coroner to raise concerns

A coroner will highlight concerns to the Civil Aviation Authority over the death of an RAF test pilot.

Flt Lt Alex Parr, 40, died when a Yak-52 civilian aircraft suffered engine failure and crashed during an emergency landing in Wiltshire in July 2016.

An inquest jury at Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner's Court in Salisbury returned a narrative conclusion.

It said the choice of landing strip "probably contributed" to his death.

Flt Lt Parr, a tutor at the Empire Test Pilots' School at Boscombe Down, was thrown clear after impact close to Dinton airfield on 8 July 2016.

Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner David Ridley said he would be writing a report to the Civil Aviation Authority highlighting his concerns about issues raised during an inquiry by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

The 10-day inquest heard civilian pilot John Calverley, 62, who was commanding the flight, was taking Fl Lt Parr on a demonstration flight.

Fuel starvation was the most likely cause of the engine failure.

Initially Mr Calverley chose a wheat field for the forced landing but as they made the approach he took over the controls and chose an airstrip instead.

A post-mortem examination concluded the Cambridge University graduate and father-of-three from Marlborough died from multiple traumatic injuries.

The AAIB carried out extensive testing of the engine but could not conclusively establish what caused the loss of power.

Some RAF crew had noticed problems with the "unserviceability" of some instruments on the Yak-52 days before the fatal crash but had not reported it to their superiors.

The AAIB said essential instruments were working and it would not have affected the decision to use the plane.

Following the crash, the Yak-52 has been removed from the test pilots' course syllabus.