A helicopter crash which killed three people was caused by an RAF pilot "showing off," an inquiry has ruled.
Flight Lieutenant David Sale, 28, was flying the 170mph Puma "dangerously fast and low," it concluded.
And a senior RAF source said he was "doing stunts a bit like a motorbike rider performing wheelies".
Flt Lt Sale died in the crash along with loadmaster Sgt Philip Burfoot, 27, and Army trainee Pte Sean Tait, 17. Nine other passengers were injured.
The pilot would have faced criminal charges had he survived.
And relatives of the victims are now expected to sue the Ministry of Defence for millions, claiming a breach of its "duty of care".
The £20million Puma, call sign Bravo Zulu, was from the RAF's 33 Squadron based at Benson, Oxfordshire.
The troop carrier was deployed two years ago to the huge Army garrison in Catterick, North Yorks, to help teach rookie squaddies how to SAFELY operate with helicopters.
Witnesses saw it travelling low and fast at Catterick before it pulled up, then crashed, the joint police and RAF inquiry revealed.
RAF fliers in a Chinook had radioed the Puma crew to caution them to "calm down".
The RAF source put the blame squarely on Flt Lt Sale, adding: "There was no mechanical failure."
Pumas are used as battlefield helicopters to provide tactical troop and load movement by day or night.
They can carry 16 fully-equipped soldiers or up to two tons of freight.
An MoD spokesman said last night: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of Pte Tait, Flt Lt Sale, Sgt Burfoot and all those who were injured in this incident.
"The RAF authorities will decide whether internal action should be taken once evidence is received from North Yorkshire Police