THE sole known survivor of a crash involving two RAF jets was last night fighting for his life in hospital after his fellow airman died and two others were missing, presumed dead.
The man, who was winched to safety by helicopter after ejecting when the Tornado GR4 came down in the Moray Firth, remained seriously ill in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
It emerged yesterday his colleague had succumbed to his injuries in the hospital following the crash involving the jets on Tuesday, which left fragments of the aircraft scattered off the north-east coast.
The Ministry of Defence yesterday abandoned any hope of finding the missing Tornado pilot and navigator alive.
Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister Alex Salmond paid tribute to the men as the Moray community close to their base at RAF Lossiemouth, spoke of a "sense of loss".
In a statement, Group Captain Ian Gale, the station commander, confirmed the death of one of the crew members – "an officer from 15 (Reserve) Squadron, based at RAF Lossiemouth".
He said a second crew member remains under medical care, where he is in a "serious but stable condition".
Group Capt Gale added: "Two additional personnel remain unaccounted for. Due to extremely poor weather conditions in the area, the RAF and Her Majesty's Coastguard have made a joint decision not to resume the search and rescue operation. It will be resumed as a recovery operation as soon as possible, but we must be realistic – given the length of time that has elapsed since the accident, there is no expectation of recovering missing personnel alive."
It is unclear why the two supersonic aircraft, capable of almost 1000mph, should have both crashed into the sea about 25 miles south of Wick near the Beatrice oilfield while on a training exercise.
Initial coastguard reports had mentioned a collision, but that has not been confirmed.
Group Capt Gale said: "This incident will be subject to full investigation, and a service inquiry will be led by the Military Aviation Authority."
The Ministry of Defence reacted angrily yesterday after a relative of a serviceman at RAF Lossiemouth blamed working conditions for the accident, saying airmen were often unable to concentrate on flying because of stress, pressure and tiredness. The woman alleged cutbacks had led to people working longer hours and flying jets that are "so old they are breaking".
She added: "The guys who are left are under increasing pressure and they're having to work such long hours."
An MoD spokesman dismissed the claims as "pure speculation". He said: "It strikes us as a bit insensitive for somebody – who probably has no knowledge of what happened – to be touting it around anonymously that this was the result of human error on the basis of the pilots being too tired."
Mr Cameron told the House of Commons that the crash was a reminder of the risks that aircrew took in training as well as active operations.
Mr Salmond said: "RAF Lossiemouth is at the heart of the community in Moray and I know how deeply and painfully this will touch not just the personnel and families directly connected with the base, but the whole region."
Local MP Angus Robertson, the SNP's defence spokesman, said: "This tragedy has deep resonance with people across Moray and my deepest sympathies go to all affected."
Stewart Cree, convener of Moray Council, said: "The loss of the Tornado crew members will be felt deeply by their families, friends and all of their colleagues at RAF Lossiemouth. That sense of loss is shared throughout the wider Moray community."
Last night the MoD confirmed the planes were from a training squadron. A spokeswoman said the job of the 15 (Reserve) Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth was to train pilots to the level required for them to go to the front line.
She added: "They could be new pilots, experienced pilots on refresher courses or those transferring from another aircraft. But there is always an instructor flying as well."
She wouldn't confirm the category of the aircrew involved in the Moray Firth tragedy.
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