'We're in dark over Hercules tragedy'
Swindon Advertiser
www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk
31st January 2007
by Anthony Osborne
TWO years after a Lyneham Hercules was shot down over Iraq, angry crew members' families say they are still being kept in the dark over what happened.

Ten British personnel, including eight based at RAF Lyneham, died when Hercules XV179 was shot down on January 30, 2005. An inquest into the deaths of the aircrew and passengers is yet to take place, and a plan to make the Hercules safer to operate over hostile terrain has only been carried out on a handful of aircraft.

Sarah Chapman, the sister of Sgt Bob O'Connor, who died in the crash, says it has been a constant battle to find out information. "It's a tough time for all the families at the moment, especially two years on, but it feels like there is still no progress."

Sarah continues, "There has still not been an inquest, although we have been told there will soon be a pre-inquest hearing about it, because of the complexity of the case. It sometimes feels like the MoD just wants to sweep it all away."

Late last year, Ms Chapman and family members of the crew handed a petition to 10 Downing Street to ask the government to push forward with installing fire-retardant foam into the wings of the Hercules aircraft.

The families believe that had the foam been in the aircraft at the time the crew might have had a better chance of surviving being hit by ground fire by Iraqi insurgents. The foam helps prevent a fuel-based fire from spreading in the wing.

"Very little seems to have been done about the petition we sent to Number 10 last year, despite it being signed by the children of the men who died and retired air vice-marshals who have all questioned why the foam wasn't installed on the aircraft in the first place," said Ms Chapman.

The MoD wouldn't tell the Swindon Advertiser how many aircraft have been modified, but it is believed to be around three, with the first arriving in the Middle East in the next few weeks. "My aim is to ensure they put the foam into every Hercules and also the future A400M transport plane, so that whenever our boys take to the air they know they are that little bit safer," Ms Chapman added.

The Lyneham crew members killed in the crash were Flt Lt David Stead, 35, Flt Lt Andrew Smith, 25, Flt Lt Paul Pardoel, 35, Chief Technician Richard Brown, 40, Sgt Robert O'Connor, 38, and Cpl David Williams, 37. Two of the dead came from Swindon - Master Engineer Gary Nicholson, 42, of Stratton, and Flight Sergeant Mark Gibson, 34, of Sparcells.

The ninth RAF man on board, Sqn Ldr Patrick Marshall, 39, was from Strike Command Headquarters, at RAF High Wycombe. Acting L/Cpl Steven Jones, 25, was a soldier serving with 264 SAS Signal Squadron.