Findings of Squirrel HT2 ZJ 247 Board of Inquiry

Thursday 10th May 2012 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Andrew Robathan)]

I wish to inform the House today of the findings of the Army board of inquiry into the accident involving Squirrel ZJ 247 on 29 May 2008.

The purpose of the board of inquiry is to establish the circumstances of the loss and to learn lessons from it; it does not seek to apportion blame.

The board of inquiry was initially convened on 30 May 2008, but was dissolved on 25 July 2008 to ensure the independence of the board of inquiry. The responsibility for the inquiry was, therefore, removed from the training chain of command and was convened by the Commander Joint Helicopter Command on 28 July 2008.

At approximately 1538 hours on Thursday 29 May 2008, Squirrel helicopters HT2 ZJ 247, operating as one of a pair of aircraft during a training sortie, struck a set of three 33 kilo volt wires strung across the Kingscott valley, Devon. The aircraft was seen by the crew of the other Squirrel, and one eye-witness on the ground, to fall through a tree canopy onto the ground. Sadly, the two aircrew lost their lives. Our deepest sympathies remain with the families of those servicemen.

Following extensive investigation, the board concluded the accident was caused by Squirrel ZJ 247 striking the Kingscott valley wires. Contributory factors included the general lack of wire awareness, course details and maps providing little information of the wires within Kingscott valley, a lack of clarity of duties, tasks and responsibilities, and induction training and mentoring elements of qualified helicopter instructor training.

A redacted copy of the board of inquiry is being placed in the Library of the House and on the Ministry of Defence website on the conclusion of the inquest into the deaths of the aircrew. We have been as open as possible and have carefully considered the public interest arguments both for and against disclosure of the information in the report. We have ensured that each redaction is fully justified by an appropriate exemption in the Freedom of Information Act.

I remind the House that the purpose of the inquiry in identifying those factors which contributed to the loss is to identify lessons to be taken forward. The board and the chain of command made 38 recommendations, most of which have already been agreed and acted upon. Decisions on the remainder will be made in the near future.

The board of inquiry into the accident involving Squirrel HT2 ZJ 247 is now complete. I express my gratitude to the president and the board for their painstaking work.