RAF trainee Top Gun pilots banned from flying over water in case they drown

mirror.co.uk:

Britain's trainee Top Guns have been banned from flying over water in case the pilots drown, we can reveal. Fledgling fast-jet flyers have been ordered not to go on sorties over sea because a fault with the kit means they might be unable to be freed if they were forced to eject over water and landed in the sea.

A military watchdog which has to approve flying by RAF, Royal Navy and Army aircraft ordered the restriction for student pilots on the Beechcraft Texan T1 planes following concerns over the life raft, life jacket and a harness.

Defence Minister Jeremy Quin confirmed the aircraft had been banned from going over the sea. He said in a written Commons answer: “The operation of Texan T1 trainers over water is currently minimised on a