3 days ago
Former RAF officer says Chinook crashed on Mull of Kintyre on 'show flight'
A former RAF officer has claimed a military helicopter which crashed during a flight from Northern Ireland to Scotland was on a "show flight" to prove its airworthiness.
Twenty-nine people - four crew and 25 high ranking members of the security forces - were killed when the Chinook hit a hillside over the Mull of Kintyre in 1994.
UTV can reveal that former squadron leader Robert Burke tried to have his concerns about the disaster raised in Parliament nearly 30 years ago.
The family of Desmond Conroy, a senior RUC officer who was killed, is demanding that the Government reverse a decision not to hold a public inquiry.
"To us, he was dad," his daughter Patricia Conroy told UTV. "He was a true family man. He was the center of our lives."
Chinooks were the Army's workhorses during the Troubles. The helicopter used for this flight was a Mark 2 version, but it emerged there had been serious safety concerns surrounding the aircraft.
A former RAF officer believes it was chosen to prove to the Army that the Mark 2 was safe following an upgrade.
Robert Burke, who had been a test pilot at the time, said: "There were obviously major faults with that aircraft, however the Mark 2 was sent to Northern Ireland as a gesture by the RAF to show that everything was sorted."
Patricia Conroy said: "If my dad had have known, any of those individuals had been told look, this helicopter hasn't got a good track record, none of them would have got on it."
Recently it emerged files relating to the disaster have been sealed for 100 years. Robert Burke saw some documents before they were locked away.
Now UTV has discovered he made a failed attempt to have his concerns raised in the House of Commons back in 1998.
Patricia Conroy said: "This revelation from Mr Burke is truly shocking, it's devastating."
The allegations have boosted calls for a public inquiry, but in a statement, the Ministry of Defense said: "The accident has already been the subject of six inquiries and investigations ... it's unlikely that a public inquiry would identify any new evidence or reach new conclusions."
The statement also says: "Neither the RAF or the MOD recognise the term 'show flight' and have no information to support such a theory."
Patricia Conroy said: "It's heart wrenching, you know, it's really difficult to think that we've been kept in the dark, and even now, all this information is coming to light and people can still say no."
The crash happened in foggy conditions, but it's clarity surrounding the full circumstances that victims' families are demanding.
