Pilot's death crash 'unexplained'

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A crash which killed a pilot who was just days away from taking up a new job was a "tragic but unexplained accident", a sheriff has determined.

Tim Cook's Cessna aircraft went down en route from Stornoway to Inverness.

The 35-year-old was making routine deliveries when the plane crashed on 22 October 2004.

Sheriff David Sutherland said the accident had "no proven explanation". His written determination followed a fatal accident inquiry last October.

The sheriff also said no blame could be placed on the pilot or his employers, Highland Airways, for the crash.

Mr Cook was an extremely competent pilot, well regarded by his peers with a very happy private life and an exciting professional career ahead of him Sheriff David Sutherland

He said: "This was a tragic but unexplained accident.

"Mr Cook was an extremely competent pilot, well regarded by his peers with a very happy private life and an exciting professional career ahead of him.

"I do not consider that there was any evidence before me which amounted to any lack of care on the part of Highland Airways in the preparation and maintenance of its aircraft, nor was there any suggestion of fault on the part of Mr Cook."

The sheriff recommended that commercial air firms consider fitting airborne flight data and cockpit voice recording equipment on all their aircraft.

Swapped duties

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report released last year could find no conclusive cause for the Cessna's steep dive into the side of a mountain, 37 miles north-west of Inverness.

Mr Cook, who had lived in Inverness, was due to take up a new job with Easyjet after two-and-a-half years flying freight and passengers around Scotland and to the Northern and Western Isles.

The AAIB report said he was not scheduled to fly on the day of the accident, but swapped duties with another pilot.

The other pilot believed this was because Mr Cook thought it would be his last chance to fly into Stornoway before moving to Easyjet.

However, his roster showed that he was due to fly the same route again.