FAQs

Why are you taking legal action against the Ministry of Defence and the UK government?

We are seeking a Judicial Review into the government’s failure, and refusal, to order a judge-led public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the 1994 Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre, under Article II of the Human Rights Act which protects the right to life. The government has a legal obligation to answer our questions and those of many other experts - and not to hide its embarrassment behind so called 'official secrets' or data protection rules.

Why do you say those on board were denied their right to life? The MoD says it was an accident?

This was not an accident. Those on board were put on an aircraft with known safety issues. The Chinook Mark 2 should not have taken off, it only had switch on clearance – not take-off or flight clearance – and those on board were ordered to get on board without knowing that it was an unairworthy aircraft. They were denied their right to life and the government failed in its duty of care.

There have been plenty of inquiries already?

Although there have been several previous inquiries, not one of them has had access to all of the important documents. Each inquiry has been deliberately limited to prevent accountability and the facts from becoming known. This includes the RAF Board of Inquiry. While the government now accepts the conclusions of it were incorrect in blaming 'pilot error' the true circumstances surrounding the crash, in particular the events leading up to the crash, have not been officially identified other than in leaked documents which we have obtained.

How much will the case cost? How will you pay for it?

Our legal team sought to have our costs capped at zero and the government has agreed. If they had refused, we would have raised the funds to take the case to court to get justice for our families. We believe there is a need for a public inquiry, for justice to be seen to be done, and we believe we have the necessary support for our campaign to ensure that this inquiry is in the public interest.

Why do you think the documents have been locked away?

Our legal team believe it’s unprecedented. We are outraged that it could be 2094, long after we are all dead, before the TRUTH is known. And that even in 100 years, they could be further locked away. We deserve the truth now and it is incumbent on the government to take our concerns seriously and to live up to their promises made about a legal Duty of Candour on public bodies. What are they hiding? Who are they protecting?

If those documents contain information which is secret, surely it is right that they remain sealed?

We don't believe that this is the case. A Parliamentary Question indicated the MoD’s assertion that ‘the documents contain personal information relating to third party individuals involved with the board of inquiry and of the next of kin. It is assumed that all individuals are alive, and the early release of this information would breach their data protection rights.’

Any personal information could be redacted. The need for answers about what happened to 29 dead service people should not be prevented because of the data protection rights of someone who is still alive? A judge-led public inquiry would be able to assess the papers if the MoD continues to assert this unreasonable excuse. The answer from the MoD is insulting.

The passengers were all intelligence and security services personnel, surely these documents are secret for a reason?

All we want to know about is the truth about the circumstances of the crash. The sealed documents relate to the crash. The work of the passengers is not relevant to that and can easily be redacted.

What’s it like still not to know what happened after all these years?

It makes us angry to think that our loved ones are not getting the justice they deserve – our loved ones were public servants who put their lives at risk every single day to protect us and to work for peace, they do not deserve this treatment from the government. It is shocking to us that there is no ACCOUNTABILITY. A Government which asserts that it believes in transparency must surely see that this should be properly investigated with no stone left unturned.

There have been many theories about what happened that night (including perhaps some conspiracy theories), when did you start to question the official response?

The pilots were very quickly and unjustly blamed for the crash. This was manifestly untrue, and it took their families nearly 17 years for the pilots to be exonerated. Key evidence relating to the aircraft was withheld from previous inquiries. We now know that before the accident, the Ministry of Defence's testing centre at Boscombe Down declared its Boeing Chinook Mk2 helicopter unairworthy. In fact, the helicopter was grounded by the testing centre, yet our loved ones were put on board not knowing that it was unairworthy. Effectively their right to life was taken away.

Sealing documents for 100 years breeds conspiracy theories. We have had to live with them for 31 years. We need truth and transparency from the government so that we can understand what happened that night and put speculation, our anxiety and trauma, to rest.

Do you have any theories as to why these documents have been locked away?

Our priority is to get to the truth. The only way to do that is to have all the evidence before an independent judge-led inquiry. Without that, we are understandably suspicious. So, we want to know what is the MoD hiding? Who are they protecting?

Just like the Post Office sub postmasters, the nuclear veterans, the Afghan data leak victims, the infected blood scandal and many more cases, the truth is being hidden from us. Like them, we want a judge-led public inquiry to get to the truth. Similar to the Post Office Horizon system, the Chinook Mk 2 was not fit for purpose. We suspect a cover up. We want to find out who is ACCOUNTABLE for an unairworthy helicopter being put into service that night.

What has the response been for the MoD/government?

Last October, we wrote to the defence minister Alistair Carns calling for an independent judge-led public inquiry. Our request was dismissed out of hand and our detailed concerns were not fully addressed. The campaign has sent further representations and asked for an in-person meeting. That was denied. We have since asked the Prime Minister to intervene, overrule the MoD and release the files. Our petition at change.org/JusticeForThe29 has been supported by more than 26,000 people as of 11th August 2025. The Prime Minister has also rejected our request and has hidden behind the lies and dissembling of the MoD.

Justice has no expiry date, we are determined to get ANSWERS, to know the truth.

We want the government to make good on their promises of a legal Duty of Candour and we – and others – won’t rest until we have secured that law.

What are you looking for now from the government?

We want the candour that they have promised to the Hillsborough Law campaign, of which we are now a part. We want full ACCESS to the documents relating to the circumstances of the crash, so we can get the ANSWERS as to why our loved ones died. Under the draft Hillsborough Law, the MoD/government owes ACCOUNTABILITY to our loved ones – all public servants who perished that night. Please check out our Mull of Kintyre Chinook Crash page to find out more and lend us your support.

The MoD has repeatedly insisted that this was a tragic accident, what has changed/what are the families looking for?

We know that our loved ones were put on to an aircraft that was NOT airworthy. The testing centre had deemed it to be positively dangerous and ‘not to be relied upon in any way whatsoever’? Had this been known, our loved ones would not have got onboard. We are determined to get ANSWERS to the many remaining questions – who sanctioned that this aircraft could be flown after it had been grounded? Why were our loved ones allowed to board this aircraft?

Due to the unique circumstances of this flight and the jobs of the people onboard, surely the MoD has locked away this information because it is extremely sensitive and the security implications are obvious?

That argument is irrelevant. This is about people taking a trip from A to B, being put on to a dangerous aircraft that has been declared unfit for purpose. What we want to know why they were allowed to board this helicopter, who took this decision and on what grounds?

What is an inquiry going to achieve?

A public inquiry which has the power to compel authorities to produce all relevant documents is the only way that we will know that we have left no stone unturned in our quest for justice.

There have been attempts by the MoD to hide the truth for 31 years. It took nearly 17 years of campaigning by the families of the pilots to drag an apology out of the MoD for wrongly blaming two innocent men. The level of misinformation that has come out of the MoD every day since the crash has been sickening to the families - still repeating the line that there were no safety issues. Even the weather that night - the MoD claims it was thick fog but in fact two yachtsmen that night are on the record to say that they could see the helicopter clearly below cloud level.

All those who died that day served their country. Their deaths have had a profound impact on their families, and we deserve the truth after all this time.

We have no faith that the MoD will give us access to all relevant documents without the powers of a Public Inquiry - they have not done in the past, and no previous investigation has looked at the circumstances and why 29 people were put on an un-airworthy helicopter. If our loved ones had known that it was not airworthy, they would never have boarded.

Are you looking for compensation?

No. Our campaign is simply about truth and transparency from the MoD. All we are calling for is access to the secret files, for answers surrounding the circumstances of the crash and accountability.

Why are only some of the families part of the Campaign group?

Some of those who previously fought for justice are now, sadly, dead - people like Mike Tapper who had to fight so hard to get justice for his son. Others want to put this awful tragedy behind them. But 24 of the 29 the families are part of the case and fully support the Campaign to get to the truth, and we will not stop until we get that.