In a significant development for a three-decade-long campaign, the families of those lost in the Chinook helicopter disaster have finally secured a high-level meeting with UK Government ministers. This marks a major breakthrough after 18 months of rejected requests to meet with the Prime Minister or the Defence Secretary.
A Long-Awaited Meeting
Four ministers have now agreed to a summit with the bereaved relatives scheduled for December 16. The delegation will include three Ministry of Defence (MoD) ministers – Lord Coaker, Al Carns, and Louise Sandher-Jones – as well as the Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones.
For thirty years, the families say they have been met with what they describe as a ‘fog of official secrecy, denial, deceit, and dishonesty’ from the MoD. They have faced shifting explanations and a critical absence of evidence, a situation compounded by the UK Government’s decision to seal crucial files until 2094.
This move means that even the children of the victims will have died before the full truth is revealed, leaving families without answers as to why their loved ones were aboard a helicopter known by the RAF and MoD to be unairworthy.
Three Decades of Intellectual and Emotional Distress
Nicola Rawcliffe, who lost her brother Chris in the crash, stated: ‘The actions of the MoD and the Government continue, daily, to cause not just emotional and psychological distress but intellectual distress as well.’
‘We have mountains of evidence about the circumstances surrounding the crash, but the MoD and ministers deny the reality, refuse to acknowledge the evidence or - until now - to meet us,’ she added. ‘So far, they have made out that we families are stupid and should go away.’
The tragedy occurred on June 2, 1994, when the Chinook helicopter ZD576, en-route from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to Fort George in Inverness-shire, crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in foggy conditions. All 29 people on board – including the crew and senior officers from MI5, the Army, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) – were killed.
A Campaign for Truth and Transparency
Dr Susan Phoenix, a psychologist whose husband Ian, a senior RUC officer, died in the crash, has been a long-standing campaigner. She spoke of the enduring pain: ‘Living in the permanent shadow of loss, we know that many of the other widows and their 47 sons and daughters who are part of this campaign, have faced the same struggle.’
‘Each time the Ministry of Defence refuses to give us answers, or the government closes its doors to us, the wound is reopened,’ Dr Phoenix said. ‘The silence deepens our grief and prolongs our search for truth.’
The families have already seen one victory when former Defence Secretary Sir Liam Fox cleared the pilots of blame. However, they insist critical questions about the aircraft's airworthiness, accountability, and the decision to fly the Boeing Mark 2 Chinook that night remain unanswered.
Former squadron leader Robert Burke has previously claimed that the flight was ordered into the air as a ‘show flight’ to demonstrate the safety of the new Mark 2 upgrade. The families believe that when it went wrong, the truth was systematically covered up by the MoD, with key facts withheld from subsequent inquiries.
Following the delivery of a 50,000-signature petition to 10 Downing Street last month, the families continue to call for the Prime Minister to personally intervene. Their demands are clear: overturn the MoD’s refusal to release all sealed documents and establish a full, judge-led public inquiry to finally uncover the truth behind the catastrophic crash.
