Chinook crash families call for the publication of a 100-year-old sealed file

Families of people who were killed in a RAF Chinook helicopter accident in 1994 asked the defense ministine (mod) to release documents that have been sealed for 100 years.

Four crews and 25 passengers were killed when the helicopter went under foggy conditions over the Mull from Kintyre in Scotland.

The helicopter carried a leading security staff of RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland for a conference in Fort George near In voice.

Several families have written an open letter to the British government, in which demands for a public request are renewed. The mod says that the incident is a “tragic accident”.

The crash on June 2, 1994 is still one of the worst peace issues in the RAF.

Two pilots who were accused of negligence due to the catastrophe were relieved 17 years later.

Families have requested the complete publication of documents that were completed by the mod by 2094

Andy Tobias, who was eight years old when his father was killed by Col John Tobias, 41, said that the “confidentiality” raises questions about what really happened.

For the first time, he spoke publicly about the crash and said that he had lost part of his childhood because his father was on a helicopter “who had been considered unreal and should never have been removed”.

He said: “In my opinion, it is nothing less than a company strike.

“I have tried to complete this accident and the unnecessary loss of my family for many years.

“But to learn that the mod sealed the archive until we all seriously raise my concerns about what really happened.”

After the crash, the pilots Richard Cook and Jonathan Tapper were accused of gross negligence, but this judgment was lifted 17 years later by the British government.

A subsequent evaluation by Lord Philip let “numerous concerns” triggered, which were expressed by those who worked on the chinoooks.

The test center of the mod in Boscombe in Wiltshire explained the Chinook Mk2 helicopter before the crash “unreal”.

Esme Sparks, who was seven years old when her father Major Gary Sparks lost his life, said it was a “shock” to learn about the existence of the documents.

She said: “My whole family wants to answer and action because my father was denied his right to life – the mod was put in danger on a plane as an airlike.

“We are angry that the government and the mod refuses to listen or meet us.”

The open letter states that the Chinook Justice campaign – to which most survivors belong, officially requested a public investigation on October 9, 2024.

This was rejected by the Minister for Veteran and People Alistair Carns on December 17th.

One spokesman for the mod said: “The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident, and our thoughts and sympathy remain with families, friends and colleagues of all who died.”