RSSRAF Eurofighter pilots sent home from Libya missions due to after night’s drinking
May 26
Air Force, News Eurofighter pilots, Gerry Connelly, RAF, RAF Eurofighter, RAF Eurofighter pilots, RAF Typhoon, Tornado fighter jets, Tornado palne No Comments
Two RAF Eurofighter pilots were sent home in late March after they were caught drinking hours before they were to fly combat missions over Libya. The men, based at Gioia del Colle in Italy, returned to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire at the end of March.
The disciplinary action followed a night’s drinking, but the MoD was unable to confirm whether the pilots were declared unfit to fly.
The incident at the Gioia del Colle base, where the RAF’s Typhoon and Tornado fighter jets are based, is understood to have led to a temporary alcohol ban for other RAF personnel serving in the Mediterranean.
In a statement, the MoD said: “Two RAF personnel have been returned from detachment in Gioia del Colle following inappropriate behaviour; this has not affected the RAF’s ability to sustain its current commitments.
“Individuals who are found to have fallen below the high standards of conduct demanded by the RAF can face appropriate internal action.”
Gerry Connelly, a retired Air Vice Marshal and former commander at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, described the news as “disappointing”.
The ex-fighter pilot said: “What’s gone on, we don’t know – but what I do know for certain is that the RAF takes a very firm view of any activities like drinking in and around flying, particularly in these sorts of conditions because clearly the two don’t mix.
Twelve of the UK’s Tornado jets and six Typhoon fighters – used to carry out bombing missions and patrol the no-fly zone – are stationed there.
The aircrafts’ pilots have so far flown more than 70 sorties, according to the MoD.