Today we’ve launched legal action against the Ministry of Defence
Families launch legal action against the Ministry of Defence on the 31st anniversary of RAF Chinook crash, which killed 29
The families of those killed in the 1994 RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre have today launched legal action against the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
It comes exactly 31 years to the day since the tragedy on June 2nd 1994, when RAF Chinook ZD576 crashed en-route from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to a conference at Fort George in Scotland killing all 29 on board, including 25 of the UK’s most senior intelligence experts and four Special Forces crew.
The crash of the Chinook Mark 2 has been mired in controversy ever since, and the families have never given up the battle for the truth.
Today, legal proceedings have been sparked in a ‘letter before action’ issued by a pro-bono legal team led by Mark Stephens, CBE from law firm Howard Kennedy and barristers at Doughty Street Chambers led by Sam Jacobs.
The families are seeking a Judicial Review into the government’s failure, and refusal, to order a judge-led public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the crash, under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act which protects the right to life.
Although there have been several previous inquiries, not one of them has had access to all of the important documents. Each inquiry has – the families and legal team strongly suspect - been deliberately limited to prevent accountability and the facts from becoming known. This includes an RAF Board of Inquiry - which the government now accepts the conclusions of which were incorrect in blaming 'pilot error'. Whilst there has been a public apology, the true reasons behind the crash have not been identified.
The families’ legal claims says a subsequent Fatal Accident Inquiry and several parliamentary investigations have all been fatally flawed by limiting their access to vital information and evidence as to why the Chinook Mark 2 was grounded and not fit to fly.
The claim states: "These investigations have been hampered by limited access to important information and evidence, and unduly narrow scopes of investigation."
Last year, in a BBC documentary, it emerged that the MoD has sealed the crash files for an unprecedented 100 years - and these could be locked away longer pending review at that time. A public judge-led inquiry would have full access to these materials which none of the previous inquiries have been able to consider.
The unprecedented sealing of archive material for such a long period has raised further questions and concerns among relatives about the circumstances surrounding the crash, which at the time was described as the RAF’s worst peacetime loss of life.
Evidence which has emerged since proves that the Boeing Mark 2 Chinook had been grounded because of fatal flaws including in the very early versions of its retro-fitted 'fly by wire' computer programmes. The aircraft experienced “unpredictable malfunctions” as well as “shutdowns and surges in power”. The FADEC engine software was considered by test engineers at Boscombe Down, who mandated the aircraft be grounded, to be “positively dangerous” and “not to be relied upon in any way whatsoever.”
The families’ legal claim points out: “These mandates prohibited engine start-up, never mind flight, but RAF aircrew were not told this, nor the passengers.”
The claim adds: "Strikingly, both the Fatal Accident Inquiry, and (former Defence Secretary) Sir Malcolm Rifkind, had concealed from them the fact that, at the time of the crash, the Ministry of Defence was in litigation with Boeing due to inadequacies in the operation of the Mark 2 Chinook."
Alarmingly, the families have only recently discovered that the MoD sued the Chinook manufacturers, Boeing, over software and other faults in this aircraft. But the MoD have prevented the families from seeing the papers from that court case by declaring them official secrets and sealing them away for 100 years.
Solicitor Mark Stephens from Howard Kennedy, said: "The government has a legal obligation to answer the families and other people's questions and not to hide its embarrassment behind (so called) 'official secrets'. Thirty-one years on, there can be no operational reasons for secrecy and the only way to find out the truth is with a judge-led Inquiry where the judge can review the so called 'secret' material and answer the multitude of questions that are left begging.
“In this case, the families of those who were killed have seen more than enough evidence to convince them, and us, that there was a failure by the MoD to apply appropriate safeguards in order to protect the passengers and crew.
“In fact, they were put on board an aircraft that was known to be positively dangerous and should never have taken off. That is why we are seeking a Judicial Review into the government’s failure to hold a public inquiry - which the families have sought for more than a year.”
The two dead pilots, Flight Lieutenants Richard Cook and Jonathan Tapper, were wrongly accused of gross negligence - the equivalent of manslaughter. It was only after a 17-year campaign for justice by the families that the UK Government finally accepted that verdict was unsupported by the actual evidence.
But the families firmly believe there is a continuing cover up by the MoD over the accident - they point to the fact that the files have been locked away for 100 years, the Chinook was unairworthy and grounded but someone ordered it to fly that day, and continuing obfuscation by the MoD and the UK Government. The children of the families have a need to understand why their lives have been lived without one of their parents. It is now time for a proper candid explanation which allows everyone to move on.
Andy Tobias was 8 at the time of the crash and his brother Matt was 10. Their father Lt Col John Tobias, 41, an intelligence officer, was killed.
Andy, a married father of two from Watford, said: “My father, and all those killed, were put on board a helicopter that was dangerous, unairworthy and should never have left the ground. The MoD failed in its duty of care towards those who had dedicated their lives to protecting the State and they were rewarded by being knowingly sent to their deaths by the State. The impact on our family has been devastating.
“What the MoD has done since the crash is smear, lie, and obfuscate. Learning that they then sealed away the files until 2094 makes us all further question what really happened and who knew what. We have spent the last year politely calling for a public inquiry.
“We’ve been ignored, our concerns have been dismissed and we’ve been refused a meeting with ministers. The families will not stop until we get access to the files, answers, and accountability.”
Nearly all of the 29 families involved have joined the Chinook Justice Campaign and back the legal case for a Judicial Review.
Esme Sparks, was seven-years old and her younger twin siblings were aged just two when their father Major Gary Sparks was killed in the crash.
Her mother, sister and brother are all part of the Chinook Justice Campaign. They only learned about the archive files being locked for 100 years in the BBC documentary, ‘Chinook: Zulu Delta 576.’
Esme, a secondary school teacher, from Darlington, County Durham, said: “We don’t want to have to take legal action against the government and MoD but we do want and need answers surrounding the circumstance of this crash. We want to know who or what is being protected? Who made the decision to let this helicopter take off? What is being hidden? In our view a public inquiry is key.
“We want to know why my Daddy and many others were denied their safety and their right to life - put in danger by the MoD on an aircraft which we know was positively dangerous and should not have been relied on in any way. We want the government to live up to the Hillsborough Law and their duty of candour promises. If they won't do it willingly, we are willing to take them to court.”
The helicopter was carrying 25 British intelligence personnel from MI5, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British Army. The two pilots were both United Kingdom Special Forces pilots, and the entire crew had exemplary service records.
The campaign formally requested a public inquiry in October last year. Despite the Government's commitments over Hillsborough Law and the Duty of Candour on public bodies, Alistair Carns, Minister for Veterans and People, rejected the request.
Today’s letter before action gives the MoD 14 days to respond.