Chinook Families Press High Court to Revive 29-Death Crash Challenge Over Airworthiness
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 14
Chinook Families Press High Court to Revive 29-Death Crash Challenge Over Airworthiness
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 14
Summary
Lawyers for families of the 29 people killed in the 1994 Mull of Kintyre crash told the High Court their case against the MoD should proceed, arguing the victims were put on an aircraft "known to be unsafe."
Court filings said the Chinook crashed just two days after delivery following a troubled upgrade, with a safety-critical engine control system flagged for a "density of deficiencies" and one engine replaced three times before the flight.
The MoD is fighting the claim as too late, saying multiple investigations have already examined the disaster, the Boeing litigation cited by families was irrelevant, and too much time has passed for any meaningful new inquiry.
The families, organized through the Chinook Justice Campaign representing more than 55 relatives, want an independent review and say the government's refusal to order one breaches human rights obligations.
The crash killed 25 passengers and four crew in fog over Scotland; a 1995 inquiry blamed the pilots, but a 2011 review later cleared them without determining the cause.