Why have we heard so little about the RAF’s worst day in peacetime?
One of the more perplexing elements of the Post Office scandal is how, despite a catalogue of podcasts, books and even a Panorama documentary, the Government was only spurred into action by the TV drama telling the tale, plus our huge reaction to it. That’s the strength of good writing and Toby Jones for you, but also the power of an important injustice being put in front of our eyes. And it raises the question, what else is out there? Well…
Tucked away on iPlayer is a new two-part documentary exploring what happened in June 1994 when a military helicopter crashed on the
Mull of Kintyre, killing all 29 people on board. The victims were 25 senior security personnel – nine Army off icers, ten RUC off icers, five members of MI5, a civil servant – and four crew. The devastated faces of RAF chiefs at the press conference told the story. A generation of antiterrorism knowledge was wiped out in a day.
Thirty years later, Chinook: Zulu Delta 576 has all the elements of a political thriller. We see the victims’ lives in personal family footage, we learn of mountain walks and fishing. Their loved ones aren’t fools, but people who were used to the risks in the province. Children knew their parents lived under assumed names, and learnt to check under cars for explosive devices. One widow remembers: “It was a difficult time to be married to a police officer.”
Such challenges paled on that June day, as we hear Michael Buerk’s ominous tones announcing the accident. Victims’ families describe hearing the news on the radio, and Army secretary Molly Carson tells of returning to work – “A whole corridor had died.” Journalists remember the government issuing D-notices to ensure some names remained secret. And onerogueish RAF veteran tells us how, when he heard of the crash, he remarked to his companion, “It’s all going to come out now.”
Except, 30 years later, it hasn’t. Part two focuses on the inquiries into the accident, and this is when my blood began to boil. It was all down to pilot negligence, everyone was told, as military chiefs overwrote all evidence to the contrary and closed their f iles. But this crew were no ordinary airmen, rather the best of the RAF. And we learn that serious concerns had previously been raised about that particular model of Chinook – a bereaved brother remembers one pilot making sure his
