Son of Chinook crash victim wants 'closure'

Andy Tobias [bottom right] said he had fond memories with his father including being taught how to swim and ski and attending his first football match

The son of a man killed in the RAF Chinook helicopter crash in 1994 says he wants truth, transparency and closure, 31 years on.

Andy Tobias was eight when his father, Lt Col John Tobias, was among 29 people who died when the aircraft crashed on the Mull of Kintyre on 2 June 1994.

The family had been living in Watford, Hertfordshire, and were in the process of moving to Northern Ireland, having previously lived in Germany and Cyprus.

He said: "We've got to set a good example to our children that you will fight for justice and you will fight for the truth... we're fighting for the honour of my father and to get justice."

Mr Tobias remembers growing up with his dad teaching him how to swim and ski.

He also recalls going with him to his first football game - but his fondest memory, and one of the last with his dad, was attending the FA Cup Final.

Now 39, Mr Tobias, said: "He was an avid Chelsea fan and me and my brother were Manchester United fans and we watched the FA Cup Final where Manchester United beat Chelsea 4-0 so me and my brother took a lot of enjoyment in giving him a lot of stick after that game which was great fun."

The helicopter, which was en route from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland, to Fort George near Inverness, had been carrying 25 intelligence experts and four special forces crew members.

He said: "My dad was there one day and gone the next, which is very tough.

"My brother was a little bit older than me and he lost his best friend that night and it's hard... it's very difficult to get closure about losing a loved one, if you really don't know the full circumstances as to why they were put on an aircraft that was not airworthy."

Andy Tobias said the families of the victims deserve "the transparency of knowing what happened"

The incident was initially blamed on pilot error, however, this was overturned in 2011.

Documents related to the incident have been sealed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) until 2094, although families of the victims had wanted High Court judges to review information.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously said a public inquiry would not "bring any greater certainty".

Mr Tobias said it "stinks of a cover-up".

He said: "Our fathers deserve respect.

"They deserve the truth to be told and we deserve as families, the transparency of knowing what happened, why they were put on this aircraft and who made that decision."

The Chinook Justice Campaign has gathered more than 47,000 signatures on a petition calling for the documents to be released, and has compiled 110 questions it wants answered about the tragedy.

Andy Tobias [back left] said families of the victims will "keep fighting" for justice

The group will deliver the petition to Downing Street on Tuesday, along with a letter for the MoD.

He said: "We feel very determined to keep fighting for justice for the fathers, the husbands, the brother, the sister that were on the helicopter that night.

"I've got two young daughters and to lock documents away for 100 years, they would be in their 80s by the time those documents would be released, which is crazy."

An MoD spokesman said: "The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died. We understand that the lack of certainty about the cause of the crash has added to the distress of the families.

"We have now received the Chinook Justice Campaign's formal claim for a judicial review of our decision to reject the demand for a judge-led inquiry into the circumstances of the crash."

They continued: "Our focus is on responding to that claim and to the allegations contained within it and we are unable to comment further at this time. The accident has already been the subject of six inquiries and investigations, including an independent judge-led review."