RELATIVES of nine aircrew who were killed when an RAF Hercules crashed

into a remote Highland glen are consulting lawyers about the possibility

of taking action against the Ministry of Defence.

The move follows an inquest in Wiltshire yesterday where a coroner

recorded verdicts of accidental death on eight of the RAF airmen who

died when the plane crashed in the narrow Glen Loch valley near

Pitlochry on May 27 last year.

There were no survivors and no witnesses to the last moments of the

aircraft, which had taken off from its base at RAF Lyneham near Swindon

and was heading for RAF Lossiemouth following a low-level navigation

training exercise.

After the inquest, former RAF policewoman Mrs Anne Young, whose

husband, Squadron Leader Graeme Young, 54, died in the crash, said a

group of widows were in discussion over possible legal action.

''We have reservations about the RAF board of inquiry report and are

holding talks together to discuss the possibility of suing. We are being

advised by solicitors. We don't ever want anything like this to happen

again.''

Relatives attending the inquest, in the tiny community hall at

Ellingdune near RAF Wroughton, heard how the crew, which included two

Scots, had completed their exercise and were headed for Lossiemouth when

they were suddenly confronted by a rocky outcrop which they tried to

avoid.

In performing the manoeuvre at low level and low speed, the Hercules

stalled and crashed, killing all on board in a massive fireball. The

accident was the first involving a Hercules for almost 20 years.

The inquest later heard Captain David Carter, a civil airline and

former Hercules pilot who flew with Squadron Leader Young, claim that

the RAF had ''recklessly'' over-fuelled the #20m aircraft.

Speaking on behalf of Mrs Young, he said the plane was carrying

46,000lbs of fuel -- the equivalent to a two-day sortie -- and claimed

this was more than the requirement for the training mission, which he

estimated was about 34,000lbs.

''It seems reckless, when flying at 250ft, to have more weight than

you need. The higher the weight, the higher the stalling speed.''

Captain Carter claimed the extra fuel load would have meant the pilot

was in ''an impossible situation'' as he tried to manoeuvre out of the

valley at low speed and height.

However, the coroner, Mr David Masters, told Captain Carter that the

inquest was limited in its task and could not deal with questions which

might be part of civil proceedings.

He heard that 46,000lbs was a standard load and ruled that Captain

Carter's information was ''not relevant''.

The inquest was told that an inquiry by the MoD failed to pinpoint who

was piloting the plane.

The investigation found that the accident was ''consistent with the

aircraft having stalled at an altitude from which recovery was

impossible''.

Those who died were Squadron Leader Young, from Cirencester; Squadron

Leader Stanley Duncan Muir, 49, a navigator, from Midlothian; Sergeant

Craig Hilliard, 23, an air load master from Inverness; Flight Lieutenant

Graham Southard, 33, a pilot from London; Flight Lieutenant Stephen

McNally, 27, a navigator, from Merseyside; Master Engineer Terence

Gilmore, 39, an air engineer from Humberside; Sergeant Alan King, 32, an

engineer from Cheshire; Lance Corporal Gary Manning, 23, from London;

and Flying Officer Jonathan Owen, 23, a pilot from Stratford-upon-Avon.

The procurator-fiscal at Perth decided there would be no fatal

accident inquiry in connection with the death of Sergeant Hilliard

because inquests were being held in England.