AN investigation was launched last night after a pilot narrowly escaped death when he ejected from his military jet.

The RAF officer baled out of his stricken aircraft only seconds before it plunged into the ground and exploded in a disused railway cutting.

No one on the ground was hurt, and the pilot - who was alone in the aircraft - was still conscious when he landed in a field by the crash site, near Sinnington, North Yorkshire.

Emergency services were quickly on the scene and an RAF Sea King helicopter picked up the pilot, who was then flown to hospital in Scarborough. His injuries were not life-threatening.

He had been flying a Hawk training jet based at the flying school at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales, and details of what caused the crash are still unknown.

An RAF mountain rescue team and investigators were flown to the scene in a Chinook helicopter to secure the site and search for clues amid the wreckage.

The aircraft came down at Dawson's Wood, just off the A170 road, about half-way between Kirkbymoorside and Pickering. Local people reported hearing a huge bang in the sky and then seeing a plume of thick black smoke rising above the wood itself.

Another RAF aircraft was also spotted at the time. It circled the site and then flew away from the scene.

Richard Wilson, 17, was in his bedroom when he heard "the loudest bang of my life".

He said: "I just ran out and had a look and saw debris flying and smoke. We saw the pilot parachute out.

"We always have the planes flying over, sometimes quite low. They usually go round in twos."

Katherine Stephens, of the Fox and Hounds pub in Sinnington, said: "It was a little bit too close for comfort. It did go down in a field but there are a lot of horses there."

The A170 was closed for about two hours in the aftermath of the smash, which happened at about 12.50pm.