Mystery Light 'Under Stricken Red Arrows Jet'

Mystery Light

news.sky.com

A photograph apparently showing a mystery bright light underneath a Red Arrows jet before a deadly crash has been passed to the investigation team.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Could this be anything at all? One person says a strobe light or reflection but whilst it does look like a reflection, no other planes in the picture have it. Not sure what to think apart from its not right.

Its a real shame as the Red arrows are amazingly skilled and would be good to get someone else opinion on what they think the light is

news.sky.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Looking at the photo on the sky news report it just looks like the suns reflection tbh, but not knowing where the sun was in relation to the position of the aircraft it is impossible to say. The Red Arrows are the best pilots in the world, second to none and i have seen them numerous times throughout my life and never have i been disapointed, they are truely amazing and the skill levels involved immense. Its beyond me the stunts these guys do and i am suprised really that there are not more accidents during the training as some of the stunts are death defying. RIP No.4

I doubt it is the sun from the angle, perhaps the light from the jet's engine in front?

Oh and I wonder if they're better than the Blue Angels

reply to post by CoincidenceX


They are unreal and should be seen, probably on youtube just to see how close they get at very high speed

reply to post by CoincidenceX


As someone says ing the article:

He added: "That light could be the start of something."

Perhaps a component blowing up on the engine resulting in loss of power or similar.

you can see teh jet disappear into the ground at about 15 seconds in this video, which is all over the net.



the vidow then repeats the same flight sequence a few times, and multiple repeats of 2 stills showing a glint of 2 of the aircraft that were not, as far as I can make out, the crash a/c.

There is no commentary or comment from the poster, so I dont' know what point he/she is trying to make with those.

The light at the back of the plane is very similar in brightness and size to the one on the nose.

This appears to be a reflection on the airplane.

Im going to put my guess in, I think it looks more like a plume. I just seems to have the the smooth shape I would expect from a reflection.

It is the high intensity strobe / anti collision light fitted under the rear of the fuselage. If the photographer who took it was experienced in aviation matters then he would have known it. Many aviation photographers capture the high intensity strobes on aircraft. It is just pure luck considering the shutter speeds although some photographers try to capture them by clicking away at a high frame rate and especially on static shots.

All the strobes on the Red Arrows Hawks will be functioning, but it is just that one shutter capture where one flash of the strobe is captured.

See following video at 01:28 and 01:38 for Hawk with strobes going. Note the under fuselage rear strobe? Now consider you are photographing this aircraft with a stills camera? The chances of catching any of the strobes are extremely rare in that moment of shutter release. It is just pure fluke/accident as you can see from the following images - just that one moment in time where the shutter release is in synch with the flash of the strobe.



Note underfuselage strobe caught on this landing shot of a Hawk.

jetphotos.net...

Underfuselage strobe caught on this Hawk.

www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk...

Underfuselage strobe caught on Eurofighter Typhoon.

www.flickr.com...

Spine strobe caught on Hawk.

www.flickr.com...

Strobe on Blackhawk

www.kenmiddleton.net...

Spine strobe firing on Hawk. You can see the rear underfuselage strobe housing in front of the underfuselage fins.

www.airliners.net...

TJ

reply to post by Gregandgemma


There are two possilbities here, there is a strobe light in this position on the Hawk and there is a hot gas exhaust from the engine to the left of the position.



if it was a miss fire in the engine or catastrophic failure its a possibility that sparks and/ or a flash of light may have been emitted from this exhaust, maybe a compressor stall may have caused the light.

if it was a compressor stall there should be tell tale signs in the engine when it was recovered or puffs of smoke in the trail from the aircraft, this could cause the loss of power and bring the jet down.

Its a real shame that the aircraft have been grounded but hopefully there will be a development soon to shed some light on the accident, i was looking forward to their displays at RAF Leuchars this year, especially as this may be the last airshow to take place at this base.

Wee Mad

I think that it may be a hydrolics line rupture and the fluid igniting. It would explain the pilots lack of ability to control the aircraft effectivly. True gent sacrificing his life to save others by staying in the plane to steer clear of the population even though he probably knew he would sacrifice himself.

Also note in the following Hawk image link.

www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk...

The Hawk is fitted with under fuselage rear fins. Note the rear strobes reflecting off the inside surface of the fins? Under certain viewing angles the reflection of that strobe is going to be enhanced due to it being reflected on the rear fuselage and the inside of those fins.

TJ

Originally posted by tommyjo
It is the high intensity strobe / anti collision light fitted under the rear of the fuselage.

The only question I have about that is the flash is white or bright yellow. I was under the impression that anti collision strobes on air craft are suppose to be red.

reply to post by michael1983l


the main flight controls in the Hawk 200 (XX308 if correct) are old fashion push rods, they run along the upper sides of the engine i believe, i havent seen one taken apart in years though, i believe (95% sure) that the light to be the strobe light in the rear panel by the stabilizers of the hawk, the other 5% is a compressor stall or engine fire thrown from the engine exhaust on the left of the panel where the light is shown, but this would have been reported by the pilot or seen in video or stills of the aircraft, .

Fight controls in a Hawk 200 series scroll to page 31, this is a diagram of the rods in the airframe

Wee Mad

reply to post by weemadmental


So what moves the exhaust vents?

reply to post by RedGolem


strobe lights are normally white on airframes, its not the same as the navigational lights that you are thinking of

Wee mad

Looks like someone left their afterburner on....Pilot error nothing else.

Originally posted by michael1983l
reply to post by weemadmental

 

So what moves the exhaust vents?

its a single jet pipe, it is fixed and doesnt move, it vents excess gases from the engine from inside of the airframe.

Wee Mad

Funny how this was over a corn field. I'm surprised no one has tried to make a correlation with the suggested white orbs that people claim carve crop circles.

reply to post by KonquestAbySS


Well hot shot, the 200 doesnt have an engine with afterburner, so its not that

Wee Mad