Chinook ZD576 - a rare, perhaps unique, photo

This photo of Chinook ZD576 is the copyright of Robin Crorie who has given kind permission for it to be used by Computer Weekly in connection with the Campaign for Justice to clear the names of the pilots. The photo of ZD576 must not be copied, shared, circulated, used or reused without the permission of the copyright-holder. 

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Today [2 June 2008] is the 14th anniversary of the crash of Chinook ZD576 on the Mull of Kintyre. 

The picture was taken early in the early 1990s at Surrey Police HQ (Guildford) when ZD576 was a Mk1. The Chinook was fitted later with a software-controlled Full Authority Digital Engine Control [FADEC] system as part of a Mk2 upgrade. The FADEC upgrade made the Mk2 Chinook notoriously unstable.

The crash of Chinook ZD576 killed onboard including the four aircrew and 25 senior police and intelligence officers.

The pilots, Flight Lieutenants Jonathan Tapper and Rick Cook, were blamed for the crash although it had several potential causes. The evidence does not rule out problems with the FADEC system. Campaigners are hoping the finding against the pilots will be set aside.

Thank you to Robin Crorie for letting us use his picture. He contacted this blog after our recent article on Derek Hine.  

Link:

RAF Justice – Computer Weekly’s 140-page report on the Chinook crash 

Campaign for Justice – collection of important material on the crash and subsequent developments  

Was Chinook crash the result of software failure or a cause we’ll never know?  

Does Chinook crash matter 14 years on