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Families bereaved after a Chinook helicopter crash on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994, which remains one of the RAF’s worst peacetime losses of life, have demanded the release of documents sealed for 100 years.
RAF Chinook ZD576 was carrying 25 British intelligence personnel from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to a conference at Fort George, near Inverness, Scotland, when it crashed in foggy weather on 2 June 1994. All the passengers – made up of personnel from MI5, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British army – were killed, along with the helicopter’s four crew members.
Now, victims’ relatives have written an open letter to the government saying they “deserve answers” and renewing calls for a public inquiry.
They have also called for the full release of documents that, as a BBC documentary revealed last year, have been locked away until 2094 by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
After the crash, the Chinook’s pilots, Flight Lieutenants Richard Cook and Jonathan Tapper, were found guilty of gross negligence by the RAF, but cleared by the UK government 17 years later.
A subsequent review by Lord Philip set out Chinook helicopter safety concerns that had been raised before the crash.
Andy Tobias, who was eight when his father, Lt Col John Tobias, 41, was killed, said the “secrecy” raised questions about what really happened.
“I lost my father, and part of my childhood because he was put on board a helicopter that had been deemed unairworthy and should never have taken off,” he said, speaking publicly about the incident for the first time.
“I have tried for many years to put this crash, and my family’s unnecessary loss, behind me – but learning that the MoD has sealed away the archive until after all of us will be long gone seriously raises my concerns about what really happened and who knew what.
“Why the secrecy? Why did my father and 28 others die? We want answers.”
Esme Sparks, who was seven when her father, Maj Gary Sparks, lost his life, said it had been a “shock” to learn about the existence of the documents, adding: “We are furious that the government and the MoD is refusing to listen or to meet us.
“Our request for a meeting with the defence minister was summarily dismissed with platitudes. What happened to their duty of candour promises?”
The open letter stated that the Chinook Justice Campaign – which includes most of the bereaved families – formally requested a public inquiry on 9 October 2024, but that this was rejected by the minister for veterans and people, Alistair Carns, on 17 December.
It added that the minister had not yet responded to a subsequent request for a meeting.
The letter also described the “huge concern and upset” the sealed documents have caused to the bereaved families.
“The papers will not be released until 2094, long after the spouses and children of those killed have themselves passed away,” it stated.
“It is unbearable to us as bereaved families to know that this sealed information could give us the answers we need.”
An MoD spokesperson said: “The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died.”
