London - Computer experts checking software used in the Chinook helicopter which crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994 halted tests shortly before the fatal flight because of concerns over safety, it was claimed yesterday.
Chairman of the House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, Mr David Davis, said he had been told that consultants EDS Scicon had found dozens of faults in the FADEC software and were "sufficiently concerned about the safety implications of their findings to halt testing immediately".
The Ministry of Defence blamed pilots Mr Jonathan Tapper and Mr Richard Cook for causing the crash which killed 29 people, including 25 intelligence officers from Northern Ireland - accusing them of "gross negligence".