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19/07/2002
Chinook pilots may not be exonerated
The two pilots of the Chinook helicopter that crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994 may not be cleared of "gross negligence" despite a finding by peers that there was no justification for the pilots to be blamed for the crash.
Campaigners have been waiting for an official government response to the Hose of Lords Select Committee report which found that there was no justification to find fault with the pilots for the crash that killed all 29 people on board the helicopter.
The two pilots Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook were both killed in the crash and there were no witnesses to what befell the Chinook helicopter carrying intelligence officers as it hit a hillside in thick fog while on its way to Inverness in Scotland from Northern Ireland.
Campaigners, including the father and the wife of one of the pilots, have maintained that there were serious concerns with the safety of the aircraft which had undergone a major refit as part of an upgrade to convert the machine from a Mark I to a Mark II Chinook.
A report made by two senior RAF officers concluded that the crash had been a result of "gross negligence" by the pilots, but campaigners remain hopeful that the RAF may reconvene a board of inquiry or set aside the former findings.
The initial internal inquiry conducted by the RAF, which was unable to reach a conclusion as to the cause of the crash, found no "human failings". However, this finding was overturned by senior officers, two Air Marshals, who concluded that there had been pilot error involved in the crash.
It is understood that Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon is due to make a statement on the matter to the House of Commons on Monday.
(SP)
Campaigners have been waiting for an official government response to the Hose of Lords Select Committee report which found that there was no justification to find fault with the pilots for the crash that killed all 29 people on board the helicopter.
The two pilots Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook were both killed in the crash and there were no witnesses to what befell the Chinook helicopter carrying intelligence officers as it hit a hillside in thick fog while on its way to Inverness in Scotland from Northern Ireland.
Campaigners, including the father and the wife of one of the pilots, have maintained that there were serious concerns with the safety of the aircraft which had undergone a major refit as part of an upgrade to convert the machine from a Mark I to a Mark II Chinook.
A report made by two senior RAF officers concluded that the crash had been a result of "gross negligence" by the pilots, but campaigners remain hopeful that the RAF may reconvene a board of inquiry or set aside the former findings.
The initial internal inquiry conducted by the RAF, which was unable to reach a conclusion as to the cause of the crash, found no "human failings". However, this finding was overturned by senior officers, two Air Marshals, who concluded that there had been pilot error involved in the crash.
It is understood that Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon is due to make a statement on the matter to the House of Commons on Monday.
(SP)
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