.jpg) ZD576, the aircraft involved in the accident, in 1987 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2 June 1994 |
| Summary | Crashed in fog; cause is disputed.
• Pilot error leading to CFIT (RAF) • Mechanical failure (FADEC software error) (Independent inquiry) |
| Site | Mull of Kintyre, Scotland 55°18′49″N 5°47′42″W / 55.31361°N 5.79500°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing Chinook |
| Operator | Royal Air Force |
| Call sign | F4J40 |
| Registration | ZD576 |
| Flight origin | RAF Aldergrove (near Belfast, Northern Ireland) |
| Destination | Inverness, Scotland |
| Occupants | 29 |
| Passengers | 25 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 29 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 2 June 1994, a Chinook helicopter of the Royal Air Force (RAF), serial number ZD576, crashed on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland, in foggy conditions. The crash resulted in the deaths of all twenty-five passengers and four crew on board. Among the passengers were almost all the United Kingdom's senior Northern Ireland intelligence experts. The accident is the RAF's fourth-worst peacetime disaster.[1][2][3]
In 1995, an RAF board of inquiry ruled that it was impossible to establish the exact cause of the accident. This ruling was subsequently overturned by two senior reviewing officers, who stated that the pilots were guilty of gross negligence for flying too fast and too low in thick fog. This finding proved to be controversial, especially in light of irregularities and technical issues surrounding the then-new Chinook HC.2 variant which were uncovered, and in light of technical problems with the specific airframe involved in the weeks leading up to the crash. A Parliamentary inquiry conducted in 2001 found the previous verdict of gross negligence on the part of the crew to be 'unjustified'. In 2011, an independent review of the crash cleared the crew of negligence and accepted that the RAF had falsely declared compliance with regulations in relation to the aircraft's authority to fly.
- ^ "31 Killed in R.A.F. Transport". The Times. London, England. 16 October 1945. p. 4; Issue 50274.
- ^ "41 Killed on Parachute Training Flight". The Times. No. 56367. London. 7 July 1965. col C, p. 10.
- ^ Peter Nichols (10 November 1971). "RAF Plane crashed in Italy, killing 52". The Times. No. 58321. London. p. 1.