Chinook crash widow welcomes review
THE wife of a senior RUC officer who died in a controversial RAF helicopter crash on the Mull of Kintyre has welcomed the announcement of an independent review of the tragedy.
Susan Phoenix, whose husband died in the Chinook accident, said yesterday that the government announcement was “just what we have been waiting for”.
Senior police, army and MI5 officers were among the dead when the Chinook crashed in thick fog on a remote hillside in June 1994 during a flight from Belfast to Inverness, killing all 29 on board.
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg yesterday revealed that the government has ordered an independent review of the Chinook crash.
He said a “respected lawyer” would lead the inquiry into the 1994 accident. There has been continuing concern after the RAF found the two pilots guilty of “gross negligence”.
Susan’s husband Ian Phoenix was a senior RUC officer involved in counter-terrorist intelligence.
She said yesterday: “If we can get access to all the documents we may get to the truth – if he [the review leader] is allowed to get on with his job objectively and is not influenced by old agendas. I think there is no doubt the crash was caused by some kind of technical failure.”
Mrs Phoenix said she had already sent a substantial file to the lawyer in charge of the review.
“I never thought the crash was the fault of the pilots, who were special forces trained,” she added.
“I felt they were just scapegoats.”
During Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Mr Clegg told Tory MP for North East Hampshire, James Arbuthnot: “I am pleased to be able to confirm today that we will be holding an independent review of the evidence on the Mull of Kintyre disaster and I hope the review will be welcomed by the families of those who died in this tragic accident.
“To ensure its complete independence, the review will be conducted by a respected lawyer who is independent of the government and who has not previously expressed a view on the disaster.
“The reviewer and the precise terms of reference will be announced soon.”
An initial RAF inquiry ruled that the pilots, Flight Lieutenants Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook, were guilty of “gross negligence” for flying too low and too fast.
But campaigners have called for the pilots to be cleared after leaked documents suggested the helicopter was brought down by computer software failures.
DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds MP also welcomed the announcement.
“Many of the leading anti-terrorism experts who had made such a valuable contribution to defeating the IRA lost their lives in the incident,” he said.
“We must find out what exactly happened on that terrible day 16 years ago.”
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 14 February 2012
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Temperature: 6 C to 9 C
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