110 Vital Unanswered Questions
Chinook families say only a judge-led public inquiry can reveal the truth about the 1994 crash
None of the critical questions published today were answered at any of the six previous inquiries cited by the Ministry of Defence and the Prime Minister, says key technical expert.
Families and MPs deliver petition with nearly 50,000 signatures to Downing Street
Relatives, experts and legal team hold briefing for MPs and Peers in the House of Commons
Families demand to know who permitted their loved ones to board an aircraft MoD’s test pilots were prohibited from flying.
Take a look at the 110 Vital Unanswered Questions. And read our Parliamentary Briefing document.
October 20th, 2025
The families of those killed in the 1994 RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre have today published a list of 110 critical questions that remain unanswered more than three decades after the tragedy and which would shed light on why their loved ones died.
It comes as members of the Chinook Justice Campaign deliver a petition to Number 10 Downing Street tomorrow (Oct 21st), signed by nearly 50,000 people, calling for a public inquiry and demanding the Prime Minister live up to his promise of transparency and a duty of candour from public bodies.
Tomorrow evening in the House of Commons, the families, a former test pilot and their legal team, will hold a detailed briefing for parliamentarians following the revelation that the Ministry of Defence intends to brief MPs - while at the same time refusing to meet or engage with the families for more than 18 months. Despite repeated requests, the Prime Minister and defence ministers have all refused to meet the families.
Relatives of those killed - 25 senior intelligence experts and four Special Forces crew - say today’s 110 questions, which relate to the wider circumstances of the crash and manner of death of those on board, have never been aired or answered at any of the six previous inquiries repeatedly cited by the MoD, defence ministers and the Prime Minister, as a reason to deny a full inquiry.
The Ministry of Defence continues to argue that no new evidence could emerge from further scrutiny, but the families say the unanswered questions themselves are evidence of a cover-up and demonstrate why the official story cannot be the final word.
The questions show how crucial testimony, documentation and accountability were sidestepped or suppressed in the years following the crash – because none of the answers are in the public domain.
The families are particularly concerned that the original RAF Board of Inquiry(BoI) was flawed and incomplete, focusing almost entirely on “airmanship” while ignoring legal and technical issues.
Documents such as the 1992 Chinook Airworthiness Review Team (CHART) report, which contained hundreds of references to the Mark 2 aircraft and identified systemic failures, were withheld from both the BoI and the Fatal Accident Inquiry.
Other anomalies include the acceptance of the aircraft ‘off-contract’ without certification, the issuing of interim clearances that breached MoD’s own rules, and the use of incomplete technical manuals and flight reference cards - crucial to the pilots’ understanding of the aircraft - that had not been validated or verified.
The publication of the 110 questions, drafted by former MOD aeronautical engineer David Hill, who has authored three books on the crash - also raises serious concerns about who authorised the doomed mission, why the aircraft type was selected despite being declared “not to be relied upon in any way whatsoever” and whether passengers and crew were warned of the risks.
The families also want answers about the deferred faults in the aircraft’s log, the pressure to use the Chinook Mark 2 despite repeated groundings by test pilots and engineers at Boscombe Down, and the failure to act on their warnings.
David Hill, who is technical expert for the Chinook Justice Campaign, said: “For the families, the refusal to grant a public inquiry, coupled with the decision to seal key documents until 2094, is a betrayal by the state of them and their loved ones.
“Continuing secrecy undermines trust not only in the MoD but in the government itself. The Prime Minister and his Defence Ministers keep claiming that “this was a tragic accident” and that there have been “six inquiries” and that no new evidence is likely to emerge in a new judge-led public inquiry.
“This new list of 110 questions explodes that myth. It blows a massive hole in the government’s argument because none of these questions has been answered properly. These questions seek to assist in establishing why 25 passengers and 4 crew were placed in an unairworthy aircraft that MoD’s most experienced test pilots were forbidden to fly.”
Among the key questions?
Who knew about the technical problems and at what level were decisions taken to authorise the aircraft’s use?
Why were the findings of test pilots, engineers and internal MoD documents not disclosed to independent inquiries?
What key evidence, including official technical records and legal documents, remains sealed and what is its significance?
Were the crew told that most of the aircraft equipment they had to rely upon was not permitted in the aircraft or that engine start-up was prohibited?
Were the passengers told that the proper authority in MoD had determined the aircraft was not to be relied upon in any way whatsoever?
The families’ legal team points out that under Article II of the Human Rights Act, the state has a duty to investigate deaths where state decisions may have contributed. Denying an inquiry into the Chinook disaster falls short of that obligation.
Jenni Balmer-Hornby, whose father was killed in the crash, said: “Every time the Ministry of Defence says there is nothing new to uncover, we can now point to 110 very specific, very serious questions that have never been answered.
“These questions are not speculation—they are based on evidence that was withheld, ignored or misrepresented to previous inquiries. We deserve answers and those who died serving their country deserve to be honoured not subjected to continuing deception from the MoD. We deserve the truth. And only a judge-led public inquiry can provide it.”
The families are calling on the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary to reverse the decision to block a public inquiry, to give access to all files on the crash including those sealed for 100 years, and to grant a senior judge the powers needed to get to the truth.
Balmer-Hornby adds: “Anything less will be remembered as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in modern British military history.”
A growing number of MPs have signed an Early Day Motion calling for a judge-led inquiry, while more than 47,000 members of the public have backed the petition demanding the same.
Northern Ireland Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood, who has raised the issue in Prime Minister’s Questions, and Labour MP Ian Byrne, who led the campaign for the Hillsborough Law, will accompany the families to Downing Street today.
Lagan Valley MP Sorcha Eastwood, who is hosting tonight’s meeting in the House of Commons and represents one of the Chinook crash families, said: "This is the first real test case for the Government’s new Hillsborough Bill. Ministers promised candour, transparency and justice – but the families of the Chinook crash are still being met with silence. If those promises are to mean anything, they must start here, with a judge-led inquiry, the release of all the files and the answers to these crucial questions published today.”
The families say the groundswell of public support reflects a simple truth: the unanswered questions will not go away, and until they are addressed in open court, justice will not be done.
Leaked files show that the Boeing Mark 2 Chinook’s FADEC engine software experienced “unpredictable malfunctions” as well as “shutdowns and surges in power”. The aircraft was considered by test engineers at Boscombe Down “not to be relied upon in any way whatsoever” and Lord Philip’s Review in 2011 confirmed this was ‘mandated’ upon the RAF.
Find out more about our Mull of Kintyre Chinook Crash campaign and the petition can be found at www.change.org/JusticeForThe29
Take a look at the 110 Vital Unanswered Questions. And read our Parliamentary Briefing document.
