RAF Chinook crash legal challenge thrown out of court by High Court judge

Bereaved relatives of those killed in the 1994 RAF Chinook helicopter disaster have been barred from pursuing legal action against the Ministry of Defence following a High Court decision handed down today.

Mr Justice Butcher determined that the claim had been filed too late, noting that more than 14 years had elapsed since the 2011 Mull of Kintyre review concluded.

The judge acknowledged the profound tragedy of the crash, which killed 29 people, stating: "The pain of bereavement and the agony of loss of the families and friends of those who perished remains, I have no doubt, enduring and bitter."

However, he ruled that "cogent grounds" would be necessary to permit such a delayed claim to proceed, adding: "No such grounds have been shown."

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The helicopter went down on the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland on June 2, 1994, killing 25 intelligence specialists and four special forces crew members during a flight from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to Fort George near Inverness.

Although a 2011 inquiry cleared the pilots of blame, reversing an earlier finding, it failed to establish what caused the aircraft to crash.

The Chinook Justice Campaign, representing over 55 family members of 25 victims, accused the MoD of an "ongoing failure" to conduct a proper independent investigation.

Their legal team argued at the Royal Courts of Justice that evidence concerning the helicopter's airworthiness "raises a more than arguable claim that... those individuals who died in the crash were placed on an aircraft known to be unsafe".

The MoD contested the challenge, arguing it was submitted too late and that reopening the investigation would serve no "practical purpose".

Several relatives who attended the hearing visibly shook their heads as the ruling was delivered.

Andy Tobias, whose father died in the crash, said afterwards: "We are extremely disappointed by the decision, deeply upset at being refused on a technicality but firmly united in continuing to seek the truth."

Jenni Balmer-Hornby, daughter of victim Anthony, expressed her frustration at the outcome.

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"All we are asking for is the truth," she said.

"The MoD still need to answer the question about why my dad and 28 others were placed on a helicopter which was known to be unairworthy and which was described as positively dangerous by its own test engineers and test pilots."

The families are now calling on Andy Burnham, who is on track to become the UK's next prime minister, to commission a fresh review into the disaster.

Mark Stephens, the solicitor representing the bereaved relatives, declared: "Justice delayed should not become justice denied."

He added: "The state holds the records, the families live with the consequences, yet the court has ruled that the door to judicial review is now closed because too much time has passed."

Mr Stephens suggested the judge "obviously felt constrained by the law, and the prime minister can rectify that with a swift decision".

Should domestic legal avenues prove inadequate, the families intend to pursue their case at the European Court of Human Rights, drawing parallels with the Hillsborough families' long fight for accountability.

"The quest for justice and accountability does not end with today's decision," Mr Stephens said.

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