An RAF Red Arrows jet was forced to break away from the rest of the team after an incident in which witnesses reported hearing a "loud pop." The iconic display team were performing at the Rhyl Air Show 2022 in Wales as hundreds of people looked on.
But Red 6 had to return to Hawarden Airport following a mid-air incident on Sunday, August 28, which was later revealed to be a "bird strike" - where a bird had collided with the jet. The strike left a gaping hole in the jet's £5m glass cockpit, North Wales Live reports.
Red 6's team mates were left circling Rhyl for a lengthy period of time until they received permission to return back to the Flintshire airport. The strike left the pilot exposed to the elements and incredible close-up pictures of Red 6 - taken by eagle-eyed photographer and Twitter user @welshiedale2022 as the aircraft was heading back to Hawarden - show the extent of the damage to the aircraft.
