Pilot saw Ashington airman flung to his death in Iraq
Dec 6 2008 Journal
AN RAF pilot told an inquest he witnessed a Northumberland serviceman “flung” to his death in an Iraq helicopter crash.
RAF Sergeant Mark McLaren, from Ashington, was killed under a Puma helicopter during a botched landing north of Baghdad.
Staff Sergeant Mark Powell, of the Parachute Regiment, also died in the accident.
It is believed the aircraft’s rotor blades clashed with those of another Puma as it landed near Taji in the early hours of April 15, 2007.
Staff Sgt Powell, 38, from South Wales, and Sgt McLaren, 28, fell from the helicopter and were found dead underneath the aircraft, which had rolled on to its right side.
The servicemen were on a mission as part of a five-craft task force and came in to land on flat terrain at 12.59am.
The lead helicopter – Puma One – touched down and troops disembarked. But Puma Two, in which Staff Sgt Powell and Sgt McLaren were travelling, got into difficulty as it attempted to land alongside.
The pilot of Puma Three, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told an inquest at Trowbridge Town Hall in Wiltshire, he saw the two servicemen being thrown from their aircraft as he hovered some 165ft (50m) above the crash scene.
Speaking from behind a blue curtain, the flight lieutenant said: “I saw two people fall out of the right-hand door.
“It was as the nose of the aircraft was facing my aircraft, they seemed to be flung out of the door.
“It was very quick, just a flash of what I saw. It was the crewman and a soldier.
“As the main rotor started to hit the ground, quite a bit of debris and dust was thrown up. I could still make out the helicopter’s outline.”
A Home Office pathologist found that Staff Sgt Powell died of multiple injuries, and Sgt McLaren died of traumatic asphyxia.
Earlier, coroner David Masters told the pilot he was concerned by the lack of communication between personnel.
The coroner said: “What I have some difficulty with is the lack of air-to-air communications, giving an indication of what each is intending to do or doing.”
The pilot replied: “We try hard to keep radio chatter to a minimum. The radio lines are temperamental.”
But the pilot said the communication system was working well on the night of the collision.
Mr Masters then asked: “As an experienced pilot, do you not find it is of advantage for you to know specifically what is going on, not relying on what you can see, to learn from air-to-air communications what officers are seeking to do?”
The pilot replied: “Yes and no. Sometimes it is clear what is happening.”
Contrary to expert evidence, the pilot told the inquest he did not believe the rotor blades clashed.
He said: “To me, it did not look as if they were close enough for the blades to hit each other. It’s very hard to let go of what your eyes see.
“To me, it did not look close enough for them to hit. I couldn’t be 100% certain. If they had been closer, my attention would be drawn to it, because it’s unusual.”
In light of the pilot’s evidence, the coroner said he had “no choice” but to call the air accident investigator who previously concluded there was clear evidence that the blades had meshed.
As a result, the inquest is likely to run beyond its expected schedule, and is likely to adjourn and resume later this month or early next year, the coroner said.
