Inquiry into fighter jet death

An investigation has been launched into the death of a navigator who ejected from an RAF Tornado fighter plane.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the man left the aircraft during an "inverted roll" over Norfolk at about 4pm.

A spokesman said the body of the man, which is not expected to be formally identified until tomorrow, was found in a field near South Creake about 45 minutes later.

It is not known if he had a parachute.

The aircraft involved in the incident, which is based at RAF Marham, Norfolk, landed safely following the incident, and no other aircraft were involved, the MoD said.

Rem Merrick, a spokesman for RAF Marham said: "It's with deepest sadness that the MoD has learnt that the British Aerospace navigator who was involved in today's incident has died. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time."

He added: "The aircraft crewed by British Aerospace. They were carrying out a test flight. The aircraft went into an inverted roll. The navigator exited the aircraft. We cannot speculate on the cause. It's being investigated by the board of inquiry."

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