TWO RAF airmen, one a Scot, died yesterday when their Tornado crashed
into a Perthshire hillside. Wreckage from the crash sprayed over a
popular tourist route, but no civilians were injured. The crash
immediately prompted demands for low-flying to be banned.
The aircraft, equipped with photo-reconnaissance equipment, was the
fifth Tornado to crash this year. It was on a routine training flight
from RAF Marham in Norfolk. The RAF could not confirm whether the
exercise involved low-flying, but the area is frequently used for
low-level training.
The Ministry of Defence last night named the two airmen as Navigator
Patrick Harrison, 33, from Ayrshire, and Pilot Flight Lieutenant Peter
Mosley, 31, from Torquay. Both men were single.
It is believed four or five Tornados -- some from RAF Bruggen in
Germany -- were in the area.
The GR1 fighter-bomber was travelling at almost 400mph when it crashed
in Perthshire's Glen Ogle at 12.15pm. Debris was scattered over a
200-yard stretch of the A85 trunk road between Lochearnhead and Lix Toll
near Killin.
''The impact site is a narrow crater about 20 yards across above the
road,'' said an RAF spokesman. The jet exploded on impact, leaving only
scorched fragments of metal on the hillside and road.
Last night search teams were combing the area, collecting debris in
the hope of establishing a cause. A board of inquiry has been
established.
First at the scene of the crash was Mr Elliott Macrae, of Afton Court,
Braehead, a plumber with Stirling District Council. He said: ''I was on
my way to a job in Killin when I heard this loud roar overhead.
''I was on the top of the glen near Killin. The jet came right over
the top of me. I could see the two crewmen on board. Next thing, it
plunged into the ground 100 yards away.
''There was a tremendous bang as the plane smashed into the ground and
a big flash as it exploded. I saw an orange parachute from an ejector
seat land on the hillside. But there was no-one attached to it.
''I ran down to see if I could help the crew. I had my work tools with
me and I thought I could help them escape the wreckage if they were
trapped. But I soon realised it was hopeless.
''Even the fir trees were on fire. The wreckage of the plane was
scattered all over the place.''
Mr Rod Davidson, a social worker, said he heard ''a loud bang''
seconds after his group from a Bridge of Allan school saw the Tornado
pass over.
''The plane banked round the valley, then about 30 seconds later we
saw a big cloud of smoke, what looked like a bomb burst.''
Mr Davidson, a frequent walker in the area, added: ''You see these
planes going past and you just wait for the bang sometimes, thinking
they're going to crash. This time it came.''
A Lochearnhead schoolteacher said that low-flying aircraft often
passed over her school. ''This plane crash was within half a second
(travelling time) of this playground with 16 children in it.''
Mr George Foulkes, Labour MP for Carrick, Cumnock, and Doon Valley,
last night demanded a suspension of all military low-flying and accused
the Ministry of Defence of reneging on a 1991 promise to cut the number
of such exercises.
''I believe there must now be an urgent inquiry into the cause of the
accident and a suspension of low-flying exercises until the outcome of
the inquiry is known,'' said Mr Foulkes, who is chairman of a Commons
all-party group of MPs set up to consider the low-flying issue.
He claimed that despite a promise from the Ministry of a 30%
reduction, the real fall had been 3% -- and that mainly because of a cut
in flights by American air force planners.
Mr Foulkes added that he feared it was only a matter of time before
there was a ''Lockerbie-style'' incident involving low-flying jets
crashing into populated areas.
But the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, Mr Menzies Campbell, said:
''The risks attached to low-flying are an unfortunate and necessary
price to pay for the professionalism which makes RAF air crew among the
best in the world.''
Mr Michael Forsyth, Home Office Minister, who was conducting surgeries
in his Stirling constituency miles from the crash scene, said the
accident underlined the debt people owed to RAF officers ''who risk
their lives training to maintain the high standard which is essential to
our security''.
Although the jet is the fifth Tornado to come down this year, the
Ministry said its accident record was no worse than other types.
Previous crashes have been in the Moray Firth, Flamborough Head in
Humberside, Cyprus, and Goose Bay in Canada.
The A85 will remain closed until RAF investigation teams complete
their study of the wreckage. It is not known when the road will be
reopened.
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