IT could be summer before the cause of the crash that killed a Red Arrows pilot near Bournemouth Airport is revealed.

A Service Inquiry was convened following the tragedy at Throop in which Flt Lt Jon Egging, 33, died minutes after the team had finished a display at Bournemouth Air Festival in August.

A MoD spokesman said on Thursday that it was likely to be April or May before the investigation was completed.

The Service Inquiry Panel is being led by a RAF Wing Commander, who acts as President.

He is being assisted by an aviation engineer from the Army and an experienced RAF Hawk pilot, the type of aircraft that the Red Arrows use.

The inquiry is also being helped by the Military Air Accident Investigation Branch, which was deployed to the scene immediately after the accident to collect and preserve evidence.

The aim of the inquiry is “to establish the cause of the accident through a thorough investigation and to make recommendations to prevent recurrence”.

In the wake of Flt Lt Egging’s death, the people of Bournemouth were united in their grief and tributes, leaving masses of flowers at the town hall and writing in books of condolence.

The Red Arrows were shook again in November when Flt Lt Sean Cunningham, 35, lost his life after the seat of his jet ejected while it was on the ground at the team’s home base, RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire.