SAS deaths 'less likely' if forces properly equipped The deaths of two SAS troopers could have been averted if special forces were equipped with the right helicopters, a senior officer has said.
By Thomas Harding
Last Updated: 6:34PM GMT 15 Dec 2008
An accident involving two aging Puma helicopters would have been "considerably less likely" if the elite troops had access to Chinook helicopters in Iraq, the unnamed Military Component Commander wrote in a board of inquiry.
Sgt John Battersby, 31, and Cpl Lee Fitzsimmons, 26, were killed when the RAF Puma they were traveling in struck the ground during a failed landing outside Baghdad.
The aircraft attempted to take off again but was engulfed in flames after it rolled on to its right side seriously injuring two other servicemen.
In an outspoken conclusion the officer wrote that the Chinook CH47 was "better suited" to operations in a "number of respects including being less prone to rollover on the rough field surface typical in Iraq".
Special forces operations have been crippled by the fiasco over the technical blunders of eight specially purchased Mk 3 Chinooks that has cost the MoD an estimated £500 million. The helicopters will only become airworthy next year seven years after they were supposed to enter service.
A flight of two Puma and two Lynx helicopters had set off from the SAS base in Baghdad on a mission against the insurgency leadership. But minutes before the mission began fresh intelligence arrived that pointed to the target being at different location in the Salman Pak area of the Iraqi capital.
Poor communication equipment led to one of the four aircraft getting separated and led to further confusions with snap orders possibly misunderstood.
The board concluded that the Puma's pilot, who survived the incident, became disorientated after he used the wrong technique for dusty conditions, resulting in the crash.
The aircraft made a heavy landing and clipped the ground. As the pilot attempted to pull up, the aircraft rolled.
The co-pilot in the Puma was also not trained to the level that requires immense skill for landing a helicopter at night in swirling dust. As a result the aircraft hit uneven ground and rolled over spilling the two SAS men who killed after they fell through the open door.
In order for a swift exit from helicopter soldiers unclip safety harnesses in the minutes before landing.
Although the board concluded that the main cause of the crash was down to the pilot's incorrect take-off, a number of other contributory factors were identified.
An insufficient reconnaissance of the landing site contributed to the crash, as did unanticipated windy conditions and poor visibility caused by dust.
Lack of seat belt restraints for the passengers, unsuitable fire extinguishers and unprotected clothing were all raised.
The board recommended that passengers should not be allowed to fly unrestrained without a full risk assessment being carried out.
Two servicemen, including another SAS soldier, were killed in April 2007 in a Puma accident followed by another three deaths the following August from a Puma crash in Yorkshire.
Source
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/3777368/SAS-deaths-less-likely-if-forces-properly-equipped.html
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