Fighter jet canopy dumped in mid-air emergency

The canopy over the cockpit was jettisoned before the pilot came in to land at RAF Coningsby

A fighter jet has landed safely after an "in-flight emergency", the RAF has said.

The air force confirmed the canopy of the Typhoon, from XI (F) Sqn at RAF Coningsby, had been "jettisoned by the pilot" during a flight which took it over the North Sea.

A spokesperson for the RAF had earlier said it was due to a suspected bird strike.

The aircraft was recovered safely to its Lincolnshire base and the pilot was fine, they added.

Richard Boettcher, a photographer who was at the scene when the fighter jet landed, said that he heard "over a scanner that a pilot had declared an emergency due to loosing his canopy".

"The jet with no canopy was escorted back to base with a wing man. They came in very low and with a reduced airspeed to normal," he added.

The aircraft landed safely after losing its canopy

The incident comes a week after the RAF launched an investigation after "a pylon" had detached itself from a Typhoon over Haisthorpe, near Bridlington, on 17 January.

There was no damage to any property and no reports of any injuries, a spokesperson said at the time.

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