Relatives of the 29 people killed in the 1994 Royal Air Force Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre have applied for a judicial review seeking to force the UK Government to order a public inquiry into the disaster.
Lawyers for the families filed a High Court application arguing the government’s refusal to hold a judge‑led inquiry, and its decision to seal files relating to the crash for 100 years, violate the families’ rights under the right to life provisions of the Human Rights Act. The move follows new scrutiny of the case after reports that former defence secretary Sir Liam Fox has been conducting his own review and publicly expressed "deep concerns" about the circumstances of the crash.
The families say evidence obtained in recent months raises unresolved questions about the airworthiness of Mark 2 Boeing Chinook ZD576, which set off from Northern Ireland on June 2, 1994, and crashed in foggy conditions, killing all on board, including officers from MI5, the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Former squadron leader Robert Burke has told investigators that ZD576 was ordered into the air as a "show flight" to demonstrate the safety of the Mark 2 upgrade.
The judicial review application contends that key facts were withheld from every subsequent inquiry and that the main crash investigation failed to consider fully whether the aircraft was airworthy before it took off. The claim states that concerns about the process by which the aircraft was authorised to fly "have never been fully, effectively and independently investigated and brought to light."
Mark Stephens, a lawyer representing the families, said the claim highlights "a catalogue of flaws, errors, missed opportunities, wrong assumptions, warnings and a raft of safety issues which have been covered up and sealed away in the hope the truth won’t come out and that relatives will die before documents are made public." Families have also accused the Ministry of Defence of "gaslighting" them by refusing to answer outstanding questions.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the department believed it was "unlikely a public inquiry would identify any new evidence." Downing Street and the MoD have previously rejected calls for a judge‑led inquiry. An early day motion calling for a public inquiry has been tabled in the House of Commons by Northern Ireland MP Sorcha Eastwood.
The application asks the High Court to order the government to reconsider its refusal to establish a public inquiry and to review the decision to impose a 100‑year restriction on release of some documents. The families say earlier investigations did not adequately examine whether the aircraft was fit to fly and that an independent, judge‑led process is necessary to resolve the outstanding issues.
The Chinook ZD576 crash has been the subject of repeated scrutiny and campaigning by relatives for three decades. The High Court will now consider whether there are grounds to require the government to hold a public inquiry and to disclose previously sealed material. No hearing date has been announced.