CHOPPER CRASH PILOT 'DIDN'T HAVE SKILL' FOR DEADLY MANOEUVRE; Scots recruit, 17, among three killed in Puma plunge.Byline: Amy Murphy A HELICOPTER pilot killed with two other men may not have been qualified for the risky manoeuvre which led to him crashing, a coroner said yesterday. Flight Lieutenant flight lieutenant Noun a junior commissioned officer in an air force David Sale David Sale is an Australian-based author and television scriptwriter. He has been a contributor to many TV drama series, provided special material for Australia's leading entertainers, and has worked as producer, director, actor and journalist. , 28, and his crew had been playing music over the copter's speakers, joking and quoting the film Top Gun in the run-up to the crash. And they had done manoeuvres which were "excessive in number and irregularity A defect, failure, or mistake in a legal proceeding or lawsuit; a departure from a prescribed rule or regulation. An irregularity is not an unlawful act, however, in certain instances, it is sufficiently serious to render a lawsuit invalid. " - on their first trip without an instructor following a two-day training exercise. Flt-Lt Sale died along with Sergeant Phillip Burfoot, 27, and 17-year-old Private Sean Tait, from Castlemilk, Glasgow. Coroner Geoff Fell said yesterday the running of RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, where the crew of the pounds 20 million Puma were based, "left much to be desired". And gaps in paperwork meant it was unclear if the crew were properly qualified for the fatal flight, near Catterick Garrison, NorthYorkshire, in 2007. The inquest in Harrogate was told the two older men were killed outright. But Pte Tait, who had been training at Catterick, died two days later in hospital. He and a number of other young recruits were among 12 military personnel on board the copter on what was planned as a morale-boosting exercise. In his narrative verdict, the coroner said: "The pilot of the helicopter was attempting a flying manoeuvre which was beyond his capabilities, or those of the Puma, or a combination of both. "Against a background of deteriorating administration, airmanship Air´man`ship n. 1. Art, skill, or ability in the practice of aerial navigation; aircraft piloting. Noun 1. airmanship - the art of operating aircraft aviation and discipline, the helicopter crashed." After the hearing, Group Captain Jonathan Burr, Station Commander at RAF Benson, said: "The verdict today will reinforce action we have already taken. We have changed the way that we supervise, manage and task our Puma operations to ensure that such events are not repeated." 14 AMERICANS DIE IN AFGHAN BLOWS FOURTEEN Americans have been killed in two air crashes in Afghanistan. Four US soldiers died and two were hurt when two helicopters collided in mid-air in the south of the country. In a separate helicopter crash in western Badghis province, seven US soldiers and three US civilians were reported to have died. The US said hostile fire In insurance law, a combustion that cannot be controlled, that escapes from where it was initially set and confined, or one that was not intended to exist. A hostile fire differs from a friendly fire, which burns in a place where it was intended to burn, such as one confined was not to blame but the Taliban said they were behind the Badghis crash. CAPTION(S): KILLED: Pilot Sale, top, and Sean Tait |
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