Latest media coverage from the inquest: Daily Mail 20 Oct 09.
'Army captain shouted Top Gun movie quote before helicopter crashed killing three men'
By Chris Brooke
Last updated at 10:33 PM on 19th October 2009
An Army captain on board a military helicopter shouted a famous phrase from the film Top Gun moments before it crashed killing three men during a training exercise, an inquest heard today. Robert Earle yelled 'Yeeha Jester's dead' when a member of the flight crew asked 'how's everyone in the back?' as the £20m RAF Puma helicopter flew low over countryside near Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire. Mr Earle, a former captain in the Black Watch, said he did not remember making the comment from the Hollywood blockbuster starring Tom Cruise, but was asked by the coroner to explain what he meant. He said: 'I believe I made that comment because there was a situation with young men doing something exciting. I didn't feel out of my comfort zone, but a manoeuvre had just been executed.' Mr Earle said he looked back at the soldiers in the helicopter to see if they were happy.
The inquest was told the flight included soldiers who had missed out on earlier exercises due to illness and it was considered a boost to their morale as well as a good opportunity to improve their skills. Mr Earle was also heard to use the phrase 'I'm in the wrong job' as the aircraft passed low over trees. He said: 'I was enjoying myself at the point the manoeuvre was being executed.' He said he did not believe the crew were flying dangerously but said he had little recollection of the accident. Flight Lieutenant David Sale, 28, Sergeant Phillip Burfoot, 27, and 17-year-old Army recruit Private Sean Tait were killed in the accident. In total 12 military personnel were on board the helicopter, which also left Flight Lieutenant Robert Hamilton paraplegic as a result of the injuries he suffered. Earlier coroner Geoff Fell said that 'people on the helicopter were doing things they shouldn't have been' in the lead-up to the crash.
The inquest heard how earlier on 8 August 2007 - the day of the tragedy - the Puma was taken on a flight over a farm belonging to a friend of a captain on board the aircraft. It flew just 50ft over a house so people on the ground could take photographs of it. Captain Rupert Smedley of the Parachute Regiment TA sat at the open door of the helicopter filming the flight to his friend Mark Temple's farm estate. As the family stood outside taking photographs of the Puma the pilot dropped from 500 feet to between 50 and 100 feet above them. Captain Smedley said he did not believe the pilot was flying dangerously, although there were some 'sharp' manoeuvres which would make the passengers' stomachs churn.
On another flight during the two-day exercise the helicopter was so low that worried residents complained to the police and the Ministry of Defence. People staying on a caravan park told investigators that the Puma was just 30feet high when it flew between caravans. Others said they were 'terrified' and were forced to 'crouch' on the ground as it flew over.
And on the opening day of the inquest an audio clip was played at Harrogate Magistrates' Court in which the crew were heard laughing and joking just moments before the crash. The on-board computer was also heard to warn 'low height' on a number of occasions.
The hearing continues.