Hercules 'sent distress signal'
23rd March 2005
The crew of an RAF Hercules which crashed in Iraq killing 10 British servicemen sent a distress signal eight minutes after it took off, an inquest heard today.

The content of the signal was not revealed but no further contact was made and the wreckage of the aircraft was located 50 minutes later. The cause of the crash is still being investigated by the RAF although insurgents claimed at the time that they shot the aircraft down.

An RAF statement read out by Wiltshire coroner David Masters today said the Hercules took off at 1622 hours on January 30 this year from Baghdad airport en route to a coalition air base in Iraq.

At 1630 hours a distress call was received from the aircraft. The statement said attempts were made to establish the location and condition of the aircraft but nothing else was heard and search and rescue teams were sent out. At 1720 hours the crash site was located about 40kms (25 miles) north west of Baghdad.

The coroner read out the statement at the opening of the inquest into the deaths of the men, whose aircraft came down on the day Iraq held historic elections. The crash was the single largest loss of British life in Iraq since military action to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime began in 2003.

The inquest was opened at Trowbridge Magistrates’ Court in Wiltshire. RAF pathologist Wing Commander Graeme Maidment told the coroner that all 10 servicemen died from multiple injuries and had to be identified either by DNA analysis or dental records. It is understood Chf Tech Brown's body was visually identified by a collegue.

Relatives of several of the men wept and Michelle Stead, the widow of pilot Flight Lieutenant David Stead, fled the court as evidence about body parts and the men’s identification was read out. Mr Masters asked Wing Commander Maidment whether he was certain he had identified all of the men correctly, a process which the coroner said he regretted had taken so long and had only been completed yesterday.

The Lyneham crew members who were killed were Flt Lt David Stead, 35, Flt Lt Andrew Smith, 25, Flt Lt Paul Pardoel, 35, Master Engineer Gary Nicholson, 42, Chief Technician Richard Brown, 40, Flt Sgt Mark Gibson, 34, Sgt Robert O'Connor, 38, and Cpl David Williams, 37.

The ninth RAF man on board, Sqn Ldr Patrick Marshall, 39, was from Strike Command Headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Acting L/Cpl Steven Jones, 25, was a soldier serving with the Royal Signals and a passenger on the Hercules.

Mr Masters released the bodies so that relatives could make funeral arrangements. The coroner said he was satisfied that the men had been identified and their cause of death was known. “I propose to adjourn these inquests now and I cannot yet say when they will be resumed. There are ongoing investigations. When the results of these investigations are known I will be in a position to make arrangements to resume these inquests. I suspect it will take a little while yet,” he said.

“This is a huge tragedy and I know the impact it has had on all the families and indeed life at RAF Lyneham. I will do my level best to conclude these inquests as soon as I possibly can.”

Earlier this month an interim report from an RAF Board of Inquiry ruled out a number of causes for the crash including sabotage, bird strike, lightning strike, mid-air collision, controlled flight into the ground, obstacle strike, problems with the aircraft’s flying controls, aircraft fatigue, cargo explosion and engine fire.

An RAF spokesman said today that it was too early to say when the final investigation report would be published. He said: “A full investigation could take weeks, months or even longer. Until the investigation has been completed it would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause of the crash.”