RAF probe as sister plane of jet used by Sunak suffers 'blowout scare'

03 February 2024 , 17:02

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The RAF voyager blew a tyre while hurtling down the runway laden with 80 tonnes of fuel

An RAF investigation is underway after the sister plane of a VIP jet regularly used by the King and Rishi Sunak suffered a dramatic runway “scare”. The plane - an RAF Voyager - blew a landing gear tyre while hurtling along a Nevada runway at around 160mph laden with 80 tonnes of fuel.

The Prime Minister takes long-haul overseas trips aboard an almost identical plane - which Boris Johnson insisted on spending nearly £1m repainting in patriotic colours. It’s one of 14 Airbus A330 Voyagers, usually used by the military to refuel other aircraft mid-air.

But last week another plane in the same fleet - with a registration number just one digit different to the VIP plane - suffered a blow out during an RAF exercise in the US.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said incidents of this kind were “very rare” and an investigation had been launched into how it happened. They said: “we are working with the US Air Force to see if we can identify the issue whether it was damage from a foreign object on the runway or some form of issue with the tyre.” But they insisted there was no indication that a fault with the model of airliner had caused the incident.

The RAF said this kind of incident was "extremely rare" (PA)

“There are thousands of these flying and there has been no form of common issue of this nature across the fleet,” they added. “All our Voyager craft continue to fly normally. This was an isolated and extremely rare incident.”

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The crew said they had felt some “minor vibrations” early on in the flight, but were unaware of how serious the incident was. Corporal Vaz Lawton, one of a dozen military personnel who staff the jet, said: “This was my first flight in charge of the cabin with passengers onboard. It was a shock to learn that the tyre had burst, but my training kicked in and I worked with the pilots and other crew to keep the passengers updated and reassure them.”

The King and Rishi Sunak regularly travel on an almost identical jet - painted in patriotic colours by Boris Johnson at a cost of almost £1m (PA)

In order to land more safely following the mission, the crew flew the plane for longer than planned, burning off more fuel to make the aircraft lighter. They touched down safely at Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada.

The plane had been deployed in an exercise codenamed “Red Flag”, supporting UK and US fighter jets in aerial combat training. The captain of the Voyager, who has not been named, said: “This has been an eventful day, but it is reassuring to be part of a wider team that operates so effectively under pressure.”

Mikey Smith