thedrifter
04-19-07, 08:39 AM
UK coroner disputes U.S. findings in Iraq crash
19 Apr 2007 12:59:55 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Peter Graff
LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - A British coroner contradicted the U.S. military on Thursday over the cause of a deadly helicopter crash during the invasion of Iraq, the latest ruling to expose discord between the two battlefield allies.
The eight British Royal Marines and four U.S. air crew killed in the crash were the first fatalities of the war. They died in the first hours of the conflict when a U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 helicopter crashed south of the Kuwait border. Washington has concluded that the crash was caused by the pilot becoming disoriented.
But British coroner Andrew Walker ruled on Thursday it was a result of mechanical failure, a conclusion that could significantly alter the official account of the invasion's early hours when British troops played a crucial role.
Walker, who conducts inquests into military deaths abroad as part of a special office in Oxford, has been outspoken in criticising Washington for refusing to cooperate with his probes in the past.
He repeated his criticism on Thursday, calling a U.S. failure to provide him sufficient evidence "unacceptable". His remarks were reported by the BBC public broadcaster.
The United States says it does not permit its troops to testify in foreign civil legal proceedings but denies it has hindered Walker's investigations.
Walker's ruling will be controversial because the crash was one of the critical moments in the war's first hours, and some in the British military have said Washington reacted poorly to it, putting the other British troops in jeopardy.
The helicopter was part of a U.S. airlift intended to drop hundreds of British Marines into Iraq to secure the southern Faw peninsula in a first phase prior to the U.S. ground assault.
After the crash, U.S. commanders grounded helicopters tasked for the mission, saying the conditions were too poor for flying.
The British troops were forced to rely on a smaller helicopter task force of their own, delaying the arrival of some troops and leaving others with little protection deep in Iraqi territory. British pilots flew the mission without incident.
Earlier this year Walker disagreed with Washington over the death of Matty Hull, a British soldier killed by U.S. pilots in a mistaken "friendly fire" air strike early in the invasion.
A U.S. military probe had exonerated the pilots, who mistook Hull's British convoy for Iraqis and opened fire without asking permission from controllers. Walker concluded they had ignored procedure and ruled Hull's death unlawful and a crime.
Ellie
19 Apr 2007 12:59:55 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Peter Graff
LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - A British coroner contradicted the U.S. military on Thursday over the cause of a deadly helicopter crash during the invasion of Iraq, the latest ruling to expose discord between the two battlefield allies.
The eight British Royal Marines and four U.S. air crew killed in the crash were the first fatalities of the war. They died in the first hours of the conflict when a U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 helicopter crashed south of the Kuwait border. Washington has concluded that the crash was caused by the pilot becoming disoriented.
But British coroner Andrew Walker ruled on Thursday it was a result of mechanical failure, a conclusion that could significantly alter the official account of the invasion's early hours when British troops played a crucial role.
Walker, who conducts inquests into military deaths abroad as part of a special office in Oxford, has been outspoken in criticising Washington for refusing to cooperate with his probes in the past.
He repeated his criticism on Thursday, calling a U.S. failure to provide him sufficient evidence "unacceptable". His remarks were reported by the BBC public broadcaster.
The United States says it does not permit its troops to testify in foreign civil legal proceedings but denies it has hindered Walker's investigations.
Walker's ruling will be controversial because the crash was one of the critical moments in the war's first hours, and some in the British military have said Washington reacted poorly to it, putting the other British troops in jeopardy.
The helicopter was part of a U.S. airlift intended to drop hundreds of British Marines into Iraq to secure the southern Faw peninsula in a first phase prior to the U.S. ground assault.
After the crash, U.S. commanders grounded helicopters tasked for the mission, saying the conditions were too poor for flying.
The British troops were forced to rely on a smaller helicopter task force of their own, delaying the arrival of some troops and leaving others with little protection deep in Iraqi territory. British pilots flew the mission without incident.
Earlier this year Walker disagreed with Washington over the death of Matty Hull, a British soldier killed by U.S. pilots in a mistaken "friendly fire" air strike early in the invasion.
A U.S. military probe had exonerated the pilots, who mistook Hull's British convoy for Iraqis and opened fire without asking permission from controllers. Walker concluded they had ignored procedure and ruled Hull's death unlawful and a crime.
Ellie