A senior defence official warned the Ministry of Defence
to suspend flights of a Chinook helicopter because of
safety concerns on the day the aircraft crashed on the Mull of
Kintyre, a leaked memo reveals.
The crash, described as the RAF's worst peace time accident,
killed four aircrew and 25 senior police and intelligence officers
14 years ago.
The defence secretary, John Hutton, this week indicated he would
uphold the official verdict that the
Chinook pilots were guilty of "gross negligence" despite a
long running campaign to
clear their names.
But a leaked memo from a senior military officer, seen by
Computer Weekly, shows that there were serious concerns about the
safety of the helicopter on the day of the crash.
The memo, from the Rotary Wing Test Squadron, dated 2 June 1994,
raises questions about the safety of the Chinook's computerised
Fadec engine control system.
It warned there had been a large number of incidents with the
helicopter engine, despite limited flying time.
"Recommendations with respect to Fadec have, to date, been
ignored. Until RWTS is provided with a clear, unequivocal and
realistic explanation of the faults further Chinook H2 flying shall
not be authorised," the memo said.
It went on to say the organisation "has always been keenly aware
of the risks associated with operating the Chinook H2 and has
tailored sortie profiles accordingly. Crews of the RAF have no such
luxury and are likely to be at higher risk.
"As such RWTS deems it imperative that, in the strongest
possible terms, the RAF should be provided with a recommendation to
cease Chinook HC2 operations."
Chinook timeline >>
Professional Pilots Rumour Network discussion board >>