Crash questions

Those interested in such matters have long known the introduction of a computer-controlled engine management system to Chinook aircraft was troublesome. Consequently the latest "revelations" (your report, 5 January) were considered long ago.

The investigation into the 1994 accident found that the engines of ZD576 had been working as expected and were in no way the cause of the crash. Indeed, the computer record showed that, when the pilots realised they were heading for a hillside, they applied full power, but too late.

The pilots' families, encouraged by the House of Lords "Mull of Kintyre Group", persist in claiming the pilots could not have made a mistake. This drives them to conclude that there must have been "something wrong with the aircraft" (despite evidence to the contrary).

This belief is encouraged by the lack of a full explanation. The RAF verdict was concerned only with the misbehaviour of the pilots, who ignored strict safety rules by continuing to fly too fast and low in reduced visibility. The MoD is right to resist any change to that, or to reopen its inquiry without new evidence. What that verdict did not explain is why the pilots flew into the Mull. The obvious explanation is that they thought they were somewhere else and that it was unnecessary to follow safety rules.

STEUART CAMPBELL

Dovecot Loan

Edinburgh