Incident Overview
On Monday, 26 September 2011, at approximately 1135 hours local time, a rider at Kailzie Equestrian Centre near Peebles, Scotland, fell from a horse after the animal was startled by a low-flying jet aircraft. The incident occurred within the confines of the riding school at coordinates 5538.017N W00308.886, within UK Low Flying Area (LFA) 16. The rider sustained injuries and was admitted to Borders General Hospital, where the injuries were classified as serious.
Aircraft and Crew
The only military aircraft identified in the vicinity at the time was Tornado GR4 ZA557, callsign MRH 45, of II (AC) Squadron, RAF Marham. The aircraft had taken off from RAF Marham at 1035 hours for a medium to low-level training sortie, transiting through the Lake District, Scottish Borders, and Northeast England before landing at RAF Waddington at 1219 hours. The crew—a pilot and a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO)—were unaware of any incident on the ground during the sortie.
Personnel Background
The pilot had 666 flying hours on Tornado and had returned from Operation ELLAMY in August 2011. He had flown one sortie before this incident, on 15 September 2011, with the same WSO. The WSO had 1587 flying hours on Tornado, held qualifications as a Qualified Weapons Instructor and Air Combat Leader, and was a Tornado Force Authoriser for routine flying. Both crew members had taken leave following their return from operations.
Pre-Flight Planning
The sortie was planned as a training flight focusing on low-level flying, with a simulated single-engine approach and overshoot at RAF Marham, followed by a transit to the Linton-on-Ouse area and a low-level route through LFAs 11, 12, 16, and 17. The weather was deemed suitable. The aircraft was configured with external stores for delivery to RAF Waddington for the Chief of the Air Staff's Air Combat Power Visit.
Sequence of Events
ZA557 took off at 1035 hours, five minutes late. At 1105 hours, it descended to low level west of RAF Linton-on-Ouse. At 1119.55 hours, it entered LFA 16 south of Dumfries. The crew increased the Minimum Separation Distance from 250 feet to 500 feet to deconflict with lower-level traffic in an underlying LFA. The aircraft flew clockwise towards Peebles. The rider had commenced her riding lesson at 1100 hours in a fenced sand school surrounded by high trees, located at the southern end of the equestrian centre. The horse was startled by the low-flying jet, causing the rider to fall and sustain serious injuries.
Aftermath
The owner of Kailzie Equestrian Centre reported the incident to RAF Leuchars at approximately 1400 hours on the same day. Investigations by the Low Flying Booking Cell confirmed that ZA557 was the only military aircraft in the area at the time. The crew were not aware of the incident until later.