Blair steps into Chinook battle
Tony Collins
The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, will personally look into the circumstances of the crash of a Chinook helicopter on the Mull of...
Tony Collins
The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, will personally look into the circumstances of the crash of a Chinook helicopter on the Mull of Kintyre in June 1994. He gave the undertaking to independent MP Martin Bell during Prime Minister's Questions.
Bell asked for Blair's involvement after parliamentarians were given a briefing by Computer Weekly on flaws in the safety-critical Fadec engine control system used on the type of helicopter that crashed on the Mull of Kintyre.
It was Blair's first public comment on the incident and gives hope to the families of the pilots who were blamed for the crash, and to fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society who want investigation by an organisation that is independent of the Ministry of Defence.
Blair said that no evidence of technical malfunction was found but told Bell, "I will, of course, look into the matter personally, and I will be in touch about it."
