Chinook Crash

On 2nd June 1994, an RAF Chinook helicopter crashed on the Mull of Kintyre, killing all 29  passengers and crew. Among them were 25 British intelligence experts from MI5, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the British Army and four Special Forces crew.

The circumstances around the crash have been mired in controversy. An initial RAF inquiry in 1995 was inconclusive, yet two senior RAF Air Marshals, with no additional information, blamed the pilots for gross negligence. A 1996 Scottish Fatal Accident Inquiry disagreed, as did several subsequent parliamentary inquiries. Instead, they pointed to technical problems with the Chinook.

An independent judge-led review in 2011 cleared the pilots and led to an apology to their families, yet the circumstances were not investigated further.

Want to know more? chinookjusticecampaign.co.uk

A 2024 BBC documentary revealed that files about the crash have been sealed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for 100 years, until 2094.

Leaked MoD documents prove that it was known that the aircraft was not airworthy.Two years before the crash, an internal report had raised multiple concerns about “systemic failings” relating to Chinook helicopters. The day before the crash, test pilots and engineers grounded the helicopter deeming it “positively dangerous.”

The bereaved families are calling for a judge-led public inquiry and release of the sealed documents. They have started legal action against the MoD.

“In so many cases involving the MoD, families like ours are put through hell. Like the nuclear vets, those fighting cancer battles caused by helicopter fumes, and many other MoD cases. The truth is denied, papers are spirited away, dishonesty is front and centre from the department we now call the Ministry of Deceit”

Andy Tobias, son of Lt Cl John Tobias who was killed in the disaster