THE RAF Chinook helicopter involved in the 1994 Mull of Kintyre crash was not suffering from ''fundamental flaws'' in its design, a committee of MPs said yesterday.
The aircraft hit a hillside on the Scottish peninsula in thick fog killing all 29 people on board, including 25 leading Northern Ireland security experts heading for a conference in Inverness.
The Commons Defence Committee said that, while it made no judgment on the immediate causes of the crash, the RAF's Chinook Mark II fleet appeared to be operating ''reasonably safely and reliably''.
The committee said in a report on the accident that it was not seeking either to endorse or to challenge the findings of an RAF Board of Inquiry which blamed the crash on ''gross negligence'' by the two pilots.
Their families have long been campaigning against the finding.
The committee said: ''We conclude that, even where those who might have been held responsible have died, there is a clear case for considering whether negligence was a factor in an accident.
''We agree that this is better done outside the Board of Inquiry system.''
The committee considered claims that the crash pointed to ''fundamental flaws'' in the design of the Chinook Mk II, but said: ''We have found no compelling evidence to support these claims.''
The MPs said that they welcomed the Government's decision that in future Boards of Inquiry would not allocate blame for accidents.
The committee also urged Ministers to allow the families of servicemen and women killed in such accidents to be represented at any inquiry proceedings.
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