Norfolk woman calls for judge-led public inquiry into Chinook crash
In 1994, 29 people died when an RAF Chinook went down in Scotland- including Nicola's Rawcliffe's brother Major Chris Dockerty
A local woman who lost one of her brothers in a Chinook helicopter crash is calling for a public inquiry into what happened.
Major Chris Dockerty was one of 29 killed on June 2nd 1994 in this accident that took place in the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland.
Tomorrow Nicola Rawcliffe, from Diss, is delivering a petition and hand-written letter to 10 Downing Street.
This petition calls for:
-A judge-led public inquiry into what happened
-For all documents related to this to be released immediately
-For all public bodies to operate under a legal ‘Duty of Candour’, so that no family ever has to "battle for the truth again".
...
She took us back to when she first heard the news- over twenty years ago:
"At the time my parents were in France and I was nominated as Chris' next of kin. So I got the knock on the door in the early hours of the 3rd of June and had the awful task of having to let my parents know.
"We are gaining massive support. We have got close to 50 thousand signatures on our petition.
"We want this public inquiry because we want the truth as to why our loved ones were placed on an aircraft which should never have left the ground.
"We all knew that the pilots were never to blame for what happened".
What has happened since the crash?
In 2002, findings from a House of Lords inquiry into this found that the verdicts of gross negligence on the two pilots were unjustified.
In 2008, the then Secretary of State for Defence John Hutton announced that "no new evidence" had been presented and the verdicts of gross negligence against the flight crew would stand.
In 2011, then Defence Secretary Liam Fox outlined to MPs the findings of an independent review into the crash, which found that the two pilots who were blamed for the crash had been cleared of gross negligence
In 2012, the then Minister for the Armed Forces, Andrew Robathan, confirmed such a false declaration did not constitute "wrongdoing", by the RAF despite it leading directly to deaths of servicemen
What has the Government said on this?
An MOD spokesperson said:
“The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died. We understand that the lack of certainty about the cause of the crash has added to the distress of the families.
“We provided a detailed and considered response to the pre-action protocol letter stating the reasons why we cannot accept the demand for establishing a new Public Inquiry. It’s unlikely that a Public Inquiry would identify any new evidence or reach new conclusions on the basis of existing evidence.
“The accident has already been the subject of six inquiries and investigations, including an independent Judge-led review.”
Background:
∙ In 2010, the Mull of Kintyre independent judge-led review was carried out and the findings were fully accepted by the MOD. The review, and previous investigations and inquiries, found that the evidence did not make it possible to reach conclusions on potential technical causes for the crash.
∙ The Mull of Kintyre Review was an independent review under Lord Philip, which was widely praised for its objectivity and thoroughness. Its findings can be found in more detail here.
∙ A number of investigations were held into the circumstances of the accident, including a Board of Inquiry and a Fatal Accident Inquiry, along with subsequent reviews by the House of Commons Defence Committee; the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, and the House of Lords.
∙ There has not been any evidence presented that would shed significant new light on the cause of the crash.
On safety:
∙ The MOD takes the safety of all personnel extremely seriously, to ensure that our equipment operates at the highest standards we put safety right at the heart of our procurement activities
∙ In the event of a fatality or major loss of equipment, a thorough independent investigation is undertaken by the Defence Safety Authority.
∙ The Chinook helicopter has had an excellent safety record since the Mull of Kintyre crash and has been a mainstay of operations in successive theatres of war.
∙ Neither the RAF or the MOD recognise the term ‘show flight’ and have no information to support any such theory
On sealed documents:
∙ The closed records held at The National Archives contain personal information relating to third party individuals. The early release of this information would breach those individuals’ data protection rights.