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| Iraq helicopters on crash course | Iraq helicopters on crash course |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| An air controller has told how his radar showed two Royal Navy helicopters on a collision course before they crashed at the start of the Iraq war. | An air controller has told how his radar showed two Royal Navy helicopters on a collision course before they crashed at the start of the Iraq war. |
| Lt Alistair Dale told an inquest that he believed both Sea King pilots had seen each other and he did not "assess" it as a problem. | Lt Alistair Dale told an inquest that he believed both Sea King pilots had seen each other and he did not "assess" it as a problem. |
| Later the Cornwall-based helicopters collided and all seven crew died. | Later the Cornwall-based helicopters collided and all seven crew died. |
| The inquest into the 2003 deaths heard there was no evidence the two aircraft had confirmed they had seen each other. | |
| Explosion in sky | Explosion in sky |
| The inquest in Oxford is investigating what caused the helicopters to crash as one returned to the Royal Navy flagship HMS Ark Royal and another left on the same mission. | The inquest in Oxford is investigating what caused the helicopters to crash as one returned to the Royal Navy flagship HMS Ark Royal and another left on the same mission. |
| Six of those killed in the incident in the early hours of 22 March 2003 were with 849 Squadron, based at RNAS Culdrose. The seventh victim was a US serviceman. | Six of those killed in the incident in the early hours of 22 March 2003 were with 849 Squadron, based at RNAS Culdrose. The seventh victim was a US serviceman. |
| The two helicopters appeared to be flying straight towards each other but as they had both visualled each other I didn't assess it as a problem Lt Alistair Dale Lt Dale said moments after spotting the aircraft on the radar, apparently travelling straight towards each other, he heard a shout from a ship's look-out that there had been an explosion in the sky a few miles away from the ship. | The two helicopters appeared to be flying straight towards each other but as they had both visualled each other I didn't assess it as a problem Lt Alistair Dale Lt Dale said moments after spotting the aircraft on the radar, apparently travelling straight towards each other, he heard a shout from a ship's look-out that there had been an explosion in the sky a few miles away from the ship. |
| Lt Dale, now Lt Commander, tried to get in touch with his aircraft but received no response. | Lt Dale, now Lt Commander, tried to get in touch with his aircraft but received no response. |
| He said before the crash he had heard one of the helicopters say it had seen the other, and the other reply it had seen the first. | He said before the crash he had heard one of the helicopters say it had seen the other, and the other reply it had seen the first. |
| "The two helicopters appeared to be flying straight towards each other but as they had both visualled each other I didn't assess it as a problem," said Lt Dale. | "The two helicopters appeared to be flying straight towards each other but as they had both visualled each other I didn't assess it as a problem," said Lt Dale. |
| Asked why there was no recorded evidence of it, he said: "I don't believe it was recording my frequency at the time." | Asked why there was no recorded evidence of it, he said: "I don't believe it was recording my frequency at the time." |
| He was asked by Richard Benson QC, representing the parents of one of the Sea King crew if he could have done more. | He was asked by Richard Benson QC, representing the parents of one of the Sea King crew if he could have done more. |
| He replied: "Although it looks like they are flying towards each other they can miss each other by a considerable margin and that has happened before." | |
| Lt Philip Green, 30, from Caythorpe, Lincolnshire; Lt Antony King, from Helston, Cornwall; Lt Marc Lawrence, 26, from Westgate-on-Sea, Kent; Lt Philip West, 32, from Budock Water, Cornwall; Lt James Williams, 28, from Falmouth, Cornwall and Lt Andrew Wilson, 36, from Exeter, Devon died alongside a US serviceman. | Lt Philip Green, 30, from Caythorpe, Lincolnshire; Lt Antony King, from Helston, Cornwall; Lt Marc Lawrence, 26, from Westgate-on-Sea, Kent; Lt Philip West, 32, from Budock Water, Cornwall; Lt James Williams, 28, from Falmouth, Cornwall and Lt Andrew Wilson, 36, from Exeter, Devon died alongside a US serviceman. |
| The inquest earlier heard that mechanical failure of the Sea Kings was unlikely. | The inquest earlier heard that mechanical failure of the Sea Kings was unlikely. |
| The Ministry of Defence quickly ruled out the possibility of enemy action. | The Ministry of Defence quickly ruled out the possibility of enemy action. |
| The inquest continues. | The inquest continues. |