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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Hercules inquest data criticised | Hercules inquest data criticised |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A coroner at the inquest into the deaths of 10 servicemen in a Hercules air crash says the hearing was "plagued by an inability to retrieve documents". | A coroner at the inquest into the deaths of 10 servicemen in a Hercules air crash says the hearing was "plagued by an inability to retrieve documents". |
| Wiltshire coroner David Masters said a military policy of "shredding" documents was "difficult to come to terms with". | Wiltshire coroner David Masters said a military policy of "shredding" documents was "difficult to come to terms with". |
| He also criticised the US military for not allowing US eyewitness interviews. | He also criticised the US military for not allowing US eyewitness interviews. |
| Nine RAF personnel and one soldier died when the RAF Hercules aircraft was shot down by enemy fire in Iraq in 2005. | Nine RAF personnel and one soldier died when the RAF Hercules aircraft was shot down by enemy fire in Iraq in 2005. |
| Aside from an Iraqi, US servicemen were the only eyewitnesses to the incident on 30 January 2005, but they were not available for interview. | Aside from an Iraqi, US servicemen were the only eyewitnesses to the incident on 30 January 2005, but they were not available for interview. |
| "The stance taken by the US is difficult to comprehend," said the coroner. | "The stance taken by the US is difficult to comprehend," said the coroner. |
| "I just wonder, what if the boot had been on the other foot - if a US aircraft had come down with the loss of 10 lives and the only eye witnesses had been British forces?" | "I just wonder, what if the boot had been on the other foot - if a US aircraft had come down with the loss of 10 lives and the only eye witnesses had been British forces?" |
| Document trawl | Document trawl |
| Summing up at Trowbridge town hall, Mr Masters said the two-month hearing was affected by a lack of data recording key RAF decisions before the incident. | Summing up at Trowbridge town hall, Mr Masters said the two-month hearing was affected by a lack of data recording key RAF decisions before the incident. |
| "I believe that the ability to retrieve and view documents that record key decisions as not just important, but essential - equally important is the rationale behind them," he said. | "I believe that the ability to retrieve and view documents that record key decisions as not just important, but essential - equally important is the rationale behind them," he said. |
| This criticism referred particularly to an apparently unrecorded decision taken by RAF commanders not to fit a key safety feature on Hercules aircraft after they were advised to do so in a military research document in 2002. | This criticism referred particularly to an apparently unrecorded decision taken by RAF commanders not to fit a key safety feature on Hercules aircraft after they were advised to do so in a military research document in 2002. |
| The inquest heard if explosion suppressant foam, or ESF, had been fitted to the Hercules, the crew may still be alive. | The inquest heard if explosion suppressant foam, or ESF, had been fitted to the Hercules, the crew may still be alive. |
| The 2002 document only came to light after a document trawl while the inquest was adjourned over the summer, the coroner said. | The 2002 document only came to light after a document trawl while the inquest was adjourned over the summer, the coroner said. |
| The 2005 crash was the largest loss of life to the RAF in a hostile act since World War II. | |
| Insurgent fire | |
| The Hercules C-130K, flight XV179, from RAF Lyneham's 47 Squadron, was hit by insurgents after flying a special forces mission earlier in the day. | |
| Enemy fire from a medium-calibre anti-aircraft weapon hit a fuel tank in the right wing and caused the ullage - the highly flammable fuel-vapour-and-air mix created as fuel is used - to explode and blow off half the wing. | |
| It crashed into the desert, 25 miles (40km) north-west of Baghdad. | |
| Witnesses told the inquest the crew were flying low (about 150ft; 46m) to avoid the threat of surface-to-air missiles. | |
| The 2002 research report, sent to senior RAF figures, said that Hercules' wing tanks were the most vulnerable part of the planes, liable to explode if hit by small arms fire. | |
| The report said "a potential solution to reduce risk is to retro-fit all C-130 aircraft with dynamic foam for the wing fuel tanks". | |
| A second report, in 2003, said the recommendation still applied. Yet it was not acted upon until after XV179 was shot down. | |
| Another issue at the heart of the inquest was a failure to pass on intelligence warnings that two US helicopters had been shot at in the same area by Iraqi insurgents just hours before. | |
| The inquest heard an e-mailed incident report was left unopened by an unnamed British intelligence officer. | |
| He said he did not open it because he had no idea XV179, which was on a special forces mission, was even in that area at the time. |