There has been a further crash involving the RAFs oldest helicopter the Puma. In the latest incident in Iraq two soldiers on board the aircraft died.
The Celtic League has long called for the withdrawal of this type from operations in the Celtic countries. It operates extensively in Northern Ireland and is also used in rural areas of Wales and Scotland were the British military have exercise areas.
The Celtic League have documented several crashes and other serious incidents with this type which is now almost four decades old and has had designated maintenance problems for over a decade.
In 2002 following a serious accident near Jonesborough in South Armagh we carried out a major assessment on the serviceability of this and other types then used in N. Ireland determining their obsolescence made them operationally dangerous to utilise over the villages and rural farmsteads in border areas.
Defence Minister Des Browne MP has assured us that the Puma and other elderly types used by the British military are safe - meanwhile the crashes continue and the death toll rises!
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J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League
21/11/07
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