Marking the 30th anniversary of the tragedy, the bereaved families have formed the ‘Chinook Justice Campaign’. The crash on June 2, 1994, claimed the lives of 25 key members of Northern Ireland’s security apparatus, as well four experienced crewmen, during a significant period of the Troubles. Those who died included John Deverell, the MI5 chief in Northern Ireland, and Brian Fitzsimons, the head of RUC special branch, who was tasked with running agents within paramilitaries.
The Chinook helicopter was bringing the security personnel to an intelligence summit in Scotland when it crashed into the hillside of the Mull of Kintyre, killing everyone on board. The tragedy was a severe blow to the fight against terrorism in the closing years of the conflict in Northern Ireland. Following the crash, the RAF initially blamed pilots Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook for flying too fast and too low in thick fog.
Subsequent inquiries, however, challenged these findings. Following a long campaign by the bereaved families and others, the RAF ruling from 1995 was set aside after a 2010 review, which concluded that the pilots should not have been blamed. Government files relating to the crash have been sealed until 2094 — a century after the crash.
The Chinook Justice Campaign has now been established calling for answers about the tragedy. Matthew Tobias, son of Lieutenant Colonel John Tobias, who was killed in the crash, explained the significance of the campaign. “I was only a chi.
