Review of report is long overdue

THE first task of the lawyer appointed to review the official report that blamed the pilots for the Mull of Kintyre helicopter crash will be to cut through the arrogance of senior figures in the Ministry of Defence.

Every time that the findings of the MoD board of inquiry into the disaster that claimed the lives of all 29 people on board the aircraft have been challenged, there has been doubt cast on the claim that the “gross negligence” of the fliers was to blame for going too low and too fast on the journey from Belfast to Fort George.

Despite a fatal accident inquiry, a House of Commons public accounts committee report and a special House of Lords select committee all finding good reason to doubt the official version of events, MoD officials have stubbornly refused to reopen the files and look again at the evidence.

This review is long overdue and while there is no guarantee that the person appointed to carry out the investigation will not concur with the original findings, it will allow the families of the pilots to enjoy some sort of relief from the pain of banging their heads against a brick wall for 16 years.