Widow of pilot who died in airshow crash flies in Spitfire plane in husband’s memory

By Ben Turner via SWNS

The widow of a Red Arrows pilot who died in a horror airshow crash has flown in a Spitfire in memory of her late husband.

A Spitfire is a British fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force before, during, and after World War II.

Flt Lt Jon Egging died when his Hawk T1 plane crashed at Bournemouth Air Festival on August 20, 2011.

Now, his wife Dr. Emma Egging has taken to the skies of Northamptonshire in a two-seat Spitfire as a grand finale to a remarkable £80,000 ($100,357) fundraising challenge.

Emma Egging during her flight in a Spitfire. (Ultimate Warbird Flights / Jon Egging Trust via SWNS)

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She told ITV: "Jon would be so jealous because it would've been his dream to get in a Spitfire.

"For me to be doing this, of course he'd be proud, but pretty jealous as well."

Jon, from Rutland, was performing with the Red Arrows at an airshow in Bournemouth when he blacked out due to the effects of G-force and crashed.

In the days after Jon's death, Emma paid tribute to her husband as "a hero in anybody's book."

Emma's ride in a Spitfire on May 19 was the last of ten challenges she undertook to mark a decade since she founded the Jon Egging Trust in her husband's memory.

The charity, which is supported by scientist Brian Cox, provides support through STEM education for vulnerable young people.

Emma has previously run a 33-mile ultra-marathon and hiked 20 miles across the Peak District to fundraise for the charity.

Her challenges have raised more than £80,000 for the Jon Egging Trust.