One of the pilots in the 2012 Tornado jet crash over the Moray Firth had developed a fear of flying, investigators found.
The man presented himself to medical staff on April 25, just weeks before the collision, and said he had reached “a crisis point” and was unfit to fly.
Doctors diagnosed him with a “phobic anxiety disorder”, triggered when flying at medium level.
He suffered from the dizziness, fear of falling, sweaty palms, dry mouth, stomach discomfort and feeling disabled until the aircraft returned to low level.
The medical advice was that he remained fit to fly, and the pilot was referred to the local department of community mental health for treatment.
The pilot started flying again after 21 days on May 16, and plans were put in place so he avoided flying at medium level, and that he would only fly with instructor pilots, not students.
He resumed flying with students on June 27, which was 10 weeks after presentation and after 14 flights with staff pilots, worth 22 hours and 40 minutes.
The pilot continued to see the community psychiatric nurse and the consultant psychiatrist, who recommended he remained fit to fly.
The collision occurred on July 3.
The “airmanship decisions” of the same pilot, and “insufficient squadron level supervision” of all the personnel involved, were listed among the 17 contributory factors by the Military Aviation Authority.