ANGLESEY, Wales: Two pilots were injured Wednesday after a Royal Air Force Hawk T2 training jet crashed and caught fire near the RAF Valley training base on the Welsh island of Anglesey, authorities said.
Emergency services responded to the crash in the Pencarnisiog area of Anglesey after the aircraft, which had taken off from RAF Valley, went down in a field.
North Wales Police said the two pilots were believed to have suffered minor injuries and were receiving treatment. Both pilots are understood to have ejected from the aircraft before it crashed.
Fire crews, paramedics and air ambulance teams attended the scene. Police said there were no reports of other injuries or wider damage.
Images and videos from the area showed smoke rising from a field and the aircraft wreckage on fire. Footage also appeared to show two parachutes after the pilots ejected.
One eyewitness told North Wales Live that he saw the aircraft take off before the crash and noticed flames coming from it.
“I knew straight away that it was in trouble,” eyewitness Pete Bennett said, describing an orange flame as the aircraft accelerated after takeoff.
He said the aircraft later gained altitude before appearing to experience further problems, after which the pilots ejected.
North Wales Police urged people to avoid the area while emergency services dealt with the incident.
The RAF confirmed that a T2 Hawk aircraft operating from RAF Valley had been involved in an incident near Anglesey and said an investigation was underway.
The RAF Valley base is used to train fighter pilots for the Royal Air Force.
