An influential committee of MPs has concluded there were "real reasons" to doubt the safety of the Chinook Mk 2 helicopter when it crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994, and has insisted the verdict of gross negligence against the two pilots should be set aside, writes Rachel Donnelly in London.
In a report published today, the Committee of Public Accounts at Westminster charges the Ministry of Defence with "unwarrantable arrogance" in defending the "unsatisfactory" finding of gross negligence against the pilots, who died with two other crew members and 25 senior RUC intelligence officers.
The committee reports that documents provided by Computer Weekly magazine point to problems with the computer system, Fadec.
The editor of Computer Weekly, Mr Karl Schneider, said he believed pride led the MoD to sanction the Chinook fleet and to rule out any cause other than pilot error.