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Inquest hears crew's last moments Crew laughed before fatal crash
(about 13 hours later)
Relatives of three men who died in an RAF helicopter crash in North Yorkshire have listened to a cockpit voice recording of their final moments. An inquest has heard a recording of a helicopter crew laughing and joking moments before a 2007 crash in North Yorkshire in which three of them died.
The recording was played on the opening day of an inquest into the deaths of Flt Lt David Sale, 28, Sgt Phillip Burfoot, 27, and Pte Sean Tait, 17. The clip was played on the opening day of the Harrogate inquest into the deaths of Flt Lt David Sale, Sgt Phillip Burfoot and Pte Sean Tait.
One relative left the room as the tape played at Harrogate Magistrates' Court. The 12 men on board the Puma aircraft were heard laughing moments before it crashed near Catterick Garrison.
A voice could be heard swearing as the Puma aircraft flew near Catterick Garrison in August 2007. Coroner Geoff Fell raised concerns about the qualifications of the crew.
At one point the on-board computer was heard to say "low height". Flt Lt Sale, 28, of Norton on Teesside, and Sgt Burfoot, 27, from Cardiff, died in the crash in August 2007.
Laughing and whooping noises could also be heard on the recording. Army recruit Pte Tait, 17, from Castlemilk, Glasgow, died two days later in hospital.
Final moments
Coroner Geoff Fell said the purpose of the recording was to "set the scene" and it played alongside a map and brief video clip of the inside of the helicopter.
A computer simulation of the final moments of the flight was also played to the court.
Flt Lt Sale, of Norton on Teesside, and Sgt Burfoot, from Cardiff, died in the crash near Catterick Garrison in August 2007.
Army recruit Pte Tait, from Castlemilk, Glasgow, died two days later in hospital.
Sgt Burfoot and Flt Lt Sale both served with 33 Squadron, based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.Sgt Burfoot and Flt Lt Sale both served with 33 Squadron, based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.
Pte Tait had enlisted just a month earlier and had been undergoing training in the Royal Regiment of Scotland Company of the 1st Infantry Training Battalion at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick. Pte Tait had enlisted a month earlier and had been undergoing training in the Royal Regiment of Scotland Company of the 1st Infantry Training Battalion at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick.
Nine other people were injured in the crash.Nine other people were injured in the crash.
Close proximity During the cockpit recording, one voice could be heard swearing and there were laughing and whooping noises.
Mr Fell told the inquest that one of the crew members had told police there had been an "incident" on Salisbury Plain a few days before the crash. There is a thread running through this that people on the helicopter were doing things they shouldn't have been Geoff Fell, coroner
The coroner asked retired Wing Cdr Duncan Trapp if he was aware of the incident, in which the helicopter was said to have come into close proximity to two other aircraft and a model aeroplane. At one point the on-board computer was heard to say "low height".
Mr Trapp said he was not aware of the incident and said such "air proxes" were "fairly uncommon". A computer simulation of the final moments of the flight was also played to the court.
He told the inquest that conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan had resulted in a reduction in the number of instructors and their availability. One relative left the courtroom as the graphic showed how the helicopter appeared to bank right over a building before crashing into the ground tail-first.
He said that, out of 13 instructors, the squadron sometimes had as few as four available in the "worst case". During the inquest, Mr Fell said questions needed to be answered about whether two members of the RAF crew were properly qualified.
The coroner said a report suggested Flt Lt Robert Hamilton, who was injured in the crash, and Flt Lt Paul Carlon, who had taken part in earlier exercises, were not combat ready.
But retired Wing Commander Duncan Trapp said the pair were properly qualified.
He said: "There was no reason why that crew, under the captaincy of Flt Lt Sale, could not and should not have carried out the task safely."
Mr Fell also said reports published after the crash claimed people were sitting on the edge of the helicopter, aircraft equipment was not properly stored, people were not wearing helmets and Sgt Burfoot was not wearing his harness correctly.
He said: "There is a thread running through this that people on the helicopter were doing things they shouldn't have been."
Mr Fell told the inquest that one of the crew members told police there had been an incident on Salisbury Plain a few days before the crash, in which the helicopter came close to two other aircraft and a model aeroplane.
When questioned by the coroner, Mr Trapp said he was not aware of the incident and said such an "air-proxy" was "fairly uncommon".
He said conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan had resulted in a reduction in the number of instructors and their availability.
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Crew laughing before fatal crash