Topic Lifecycle: Dormant

This topic is currently dormant in the news cycle. It was last covered on Tuesday 20 October 2026 and has not appeared in recent broadcasts.

Coverage trend (last 30 days)

How much coverage this topic got from each channel over the past month.

On screen

Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.

Sky News, Sky News Today with Jayne Secker, 23 September 2026
Channel 5, 5 News with Dan Walker, 23 September 2026
BBC One, BBC News, 23 September 2026
ITV, ITV Evening News, 23 September 2026
BBC News, The Context, 23 September 2026
BBC One, BBC News and Weather, 23 September 2026
ITV, ITV News at Ten, 23 September 2026
ITV, ITV Lunchtime News, 24 September 2026
BBC One, BBC News, 24 September 2026
ITV, ITV Evening News, 24 September 2026
ITV, ITV News at Ten, 24 September 2026
BBC One, BBC News and Weather, 24 September 2026
GB News, Patrick Christys Tonight Late, 19 October 2026

Recent stories

The latest story timelines linked to this topic, newest activity first.

Updated Tuesday 20 October 2026

Dormant

RAF Typhoons to defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi drone and missile attacks

The UK is sending RAF Typhoon jets on defensive missions to protect Saudi cities and infrastructure from Houthi drone and missile attacks, alongside transport aircraft and military advisers.

5 channels

Updated Monday 19 October 2026

Dormant

Missing fuel cap on RAF Hawk jet becomes key line in crash inquiry

Investigators have found that a fuel cap was left off a £20m RAF Hawk T2 before it caught fire and crashed near RAF Valley, and the ground crew's error is now central to the inquiry.

1 channel

Updated Thursday 8 October 2026

Dormant

Two Latvian men held under National Security Act after RAF Molesworth breach

Two Latvian nationals living in the UK were arrested inside RAF Molesworth after a fence breach and are held under the National Security Act, police say.

2 channels

View all RAF stories →

What was reported

A plain summary of this topic, built from the channels that covered it.

In coverage that placed the crash on the previous day, ITV1 and BBC ONE West reported that an RAF Hawk training aircraft crashed on Anglesey after its two pilots ejected. Both channels said the pilots were a trainee and an instructor and that the crash happened during a training exercise. ITV1 reported that the RAF station commander said the pilots were in hospital with their families, in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery. BBC ONE West reported that they were recovering from minor injuries. Both channels reported that an RAF commander said the pilots had directed the aircraft away from built-up or populated areas before the crash, and that it came down near a caravan park, narrowly missing houses or a caravan. Both channels reported that Hawk jets were grounded. ITV1 described the grounding as a precautionary measure, while BBC ONE West said the jets had been temporarily grounded, and both channels said an investigation would examine what caused the crash. ITV1 added an eyewitness account of the aircraft appearing to be in trouble and on fire before two bangs and the ejection. BBC ONE West included details of the physical and mental stress of ejection and noted that footage of the moment was shared online.

Key Claims by Channel

Wednesday 23 September 2026

Claim
Widely reported · 4 or more of 5 channels
Two RAF pilots sustained minor injuries after ejecting from a training aircraft that crashed in Wales.
Reported by a few · 2–3 channels
The aircraft involved in the crash was a Hawk T2 developed by BAE. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Not reported by ITV
An investigation into the incident was under way, according to the Defence Secretary. Not reported by BBC News Not reported by ITV
Video footage showed the pilots ejecting before the aircraft hit the ground in a fireball. Reported by Channel 5 Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Not reported by ITV Reported by Sky News
There were no reports of wider damage or injuries on the ground. Reported by Channel 5 Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Not reported by ITV Reported by Sky News
Emergency services attended the crash scene. Reported by Channel 5 Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Not reported by ITV Reported by Sky News
Only on one channel
A witness reported seeing flames from the engine as the plane left the runway. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Not reported by ITVNot reported by Sky News
The impact caused part of the aircraft's tail to break off and land nearby. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Not reported by ITVNot reported by Sky News
The Hawk T2 is used by 4 Squadron for mountain and maritime training and by 25 Squadron in the RAF and Royal Navy training programme. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC OneNot reported by ITV Reported by Sky News
The Hawk T2 is used to train pilots as closely as possible to the Typhoon fighter jet, with very similar controls. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC OneNot reported by ITV Reported by Sky News
Ejection can subject pilots to 14 to 20 Gs, compress the spinal column and temporarily reduce height by about one to three centimetres. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC OneNot reported by ITV Reported by Sky News
Prince William was stationed in the area between 2010 and 2013. Reported by Channel 5 Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC OneNot reported by ITVNot reported by Sky News
The Hawk T2 is also used in Red Arrows training. Reported by Channel 5 Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC OneNot reported by ITVNot reported by Sky News
The Hawk T2 fleet had previously been grounded because of engine problems, but there was no suggestion the earlier difficulties were linked to the crash. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC One Not reported by Sky News
RAF temporarily paused Hawk T1 and T2 operations as a precaution. Not reported by Channel 5 Not reported by BBC OneNot reported by ITVNot reported by Sky News

Thursday 24 September 2026

Claim
Widely reported · 4 or more of 5 channels
Two RAF pilots sustained minor injuries after ejecting from a training aircraft that crashed in Wales. Reported by Channel 5 Reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Reported by ITV Reported by Sky News
Reported by a few · 2–3 channels
The aircraft involved in the crash was a Hawk T2 developed by BAE. Reported by Channel 5 Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC OneNot reported by ITV Reported by Sky News
An investigation into the incident was under way, according to the Defence Secretary. Reported by Channel 5 Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Reported by ITV Not reported by Sky News
RAF temporarily paused Hawk T1 and T2 operations as a precaution. Not reported by Channel 5 Reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Not reported by Sky News
The RAF said the two pilots who ejected were expected to make a full recovery. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Not reported by Sky News
The aircraft apparently narrowly missed houses. Not reported by Channel 5 Reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Reported by ITV Not reported by Sky News
The two pilots were a trainee pilot and an instructor. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Reported by ITV Not reported by Sky News
The crash happened during a training exercise. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Reported by ITV Not reported by Sky News
An RAF commander said the pilot steered the aircraft away from built-up or populated areas and helped avert a disaster. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Reported by ITV Not reported by Sky News
Only on one channel
Ejection seats subject pilots to between 14 and 20 Gs of force. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC OneNot reported by ITV Reported by Sky News
The aircraft had taken off from RAF Valley shortly before the crash. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC One Reported by ITV Not reported by Sky News
An RAF station commander said the pilots were in good spirits and with their families in hospital. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC One Reported by ITV Not reported by Sky News
An eyewitness reported seeing the aircraft in trouble and on fire before hearing two bangs and seeing the ejection. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC NewsNot reported by BBC One Reported by ITV Not reported by Sky News
Video footage of the ejection circulated widely online. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Not reported by ITVNot reported by Sky News
The pilots underwent significant physical and mental stress during the ejection. Not reported by Channel 5Not reported by BBC News Reported by BBC One Not reported by ITVNot reported by Sky News

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.

Timeline

Where this topic appeared. Cells show coverage time and are darker when there was more coverage.

Date Channel 5 BBC News BBC One BBC Two Channel 4 GB News ITV Sky News
Tuesday 20 October 2026 1m 42s 4.7% ———————
Monday 19 October 2026 ————— 3m 35s 5.1% ——
Thursday 8 October 2026 —————— 1m 46s 2.1% —
Thursday 24 September 2026 —— 4m 22s 2.9% ——— 8m 58s 10.6% —
Wednesday 23 September 2026 2m 17s 6.3% 1m 56s 1.6% 2m 10s 2.3% ——— 7m 21s 6.0% 3m 52s 3.3%