New evidence has emerged indicating that the Ministry of Defence was warned about potentially catastrophic software problems with the Chinook helicopter months before a fatal crash in 1994. The crash, which occurred on 2 June 1994 in thick fog on the Mull of Kintyre, killed all 29 people on board, including senior Northern Ireland security and intelligence officials.
Mike Tapper, whose son Jonathan was one of the pilots killed, said the aircraft should never have been allowed to fly. An MoD document, written nine months before the crash and obtained by the BBC, described the Chinook Mark 2's software as 'positively dangerous' and warned that deficiencies meant the pilot's full control of the engines 'could not be assured'.
The document was written by a senior engineering officer at the helicopter test centre at Boscombe Down, who recommended against releasing the aircraft into service and called for a rewrite of the computer software. It stated that any malfunctions or design errors in the software could have 'catastrophic effects'.
Squadron Leader Robert Burke, the chief test pilot for the Chinook Mark 2 at the time, said he was told by a senior officer to stop advising the civilian air accident investigator and was not asked to take part in the official RAF inquiry. He claimed the RAF rushed the helicopter into service knowing it was dangerous and then blamed the pilots to save face.
Two air marshals, Sir William Wratten and Sir John Day, overruled the RAF board of inquiry, which had found 'many potential causes', and accused the two pilots of gross negligence. Three later inquiries, including one by the House of Lords, concluded the cause was uncertain. Former defence secretary Des Browne asked officials to review the case after concerns about software problems, and the review was reported to his successor John Hutton.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, defence secretary at the time, said he was not made aware of the warnings and that the finding of gross negligence was 'unsustainable'. Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said an injustice had been done. The Conservatives have agreed to appoint a high court judge to review all the evidence.
