Hercules Crash Investigation Underway
BBC News
31st January 2005
www.bbc.co.uk
An investigation has begun into an air force plane crash which killed at least nine British soldiers in Iraq.

The cause of Sunday's crash was not immediately clear, but wreckage was spread over a large area. It came as Iraqis voted for a national assembly.

Military sources say the death toll could rise to 15 after the C-130 Hercules crashed 40 kilometres (25 miles) north west of Baghdad. It is the biggest single loss of life for UK troops since arriving in Iraq.

The Hercules, based at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, crashed in fine conditions at 1640 local time (1340 GMT) en route from Baghdad to Balad, which houses one of the largest US air bases in Iraq.

Balad is home to about 25,000 US troops and has been the frequent target of mortar attacks by Iraqi insurgents. US and UK forces secured the site of the crash, which happened on the day of Iraq's first multi-party election for decades. However, the investigation could be difficult in the hostile territory. There are no British troops usually based in Balad and the purpose of the flight was unclear. Some British newspapers have speculated that the plane was carrying Special Air Service (SAS) personnel but there has been no official confirmation.

Air Vice Marshal Tony Mason told BBC News it was "theoretically possible" there were SAS men on board, but that the MoD would never confirm that if it was the case. He said the circumstances of the crash were a coincidence, and that bearing in mind the high level of training of a Hercules crew and the reports suggesting wreckage was spread over a wide area, enemy action was a possibility. "My concern is it could very well be hostile action."

The RAF routinely flies between Baghdad and the British headquarters in the southern city of Basra. The BBC's Clarence Mitchell said the weather in the region was fine and, given the good safety record of the plane, the "chances of it being hostile action against it are increasing". On Sunday Prime Minister Tony Blair paid tribute to the troops killed, saying: "This country and the wider world will never forget them."

Wing Commander Nigel Arnold of RAF Lyneham said they were in the process of contacting the families of those involved and refused to speculate on the cause. "The welfare of these families is our priority at the moment."

US President George W Bush has also paid tribute to the soldiers killed, as polls opened across Iraq for its first free election in more than 50 years. He said: "Some Iraqis were killed while exercising their rights as citizens. "We also mourn the American and British military personnel who lost their lives today. Their sacrifices were made in a vital cause of freedom, peace in troubled region, and a more secure future for us all."

Hercules planes have an excellent safety record, according to aviation expert Paul Beaver of Jane's Defence Weekly. The US-built troop carrier is used by both British and US forces. British military chiefs have used the plane as a "workhorse" to transport troops, fuel, ammunition and humanitarian relief. It is the favoured aircraft of the SAS and is regarded as being especially of use in Iraq for its ability to land in desert conditions.