Robin Clark:
..from reading the words of the AAIB I now realise that there is a little more to the story......
Now ain't that the understatement to cap all understatements! The answer to all your speculations and propositions is that nobody knows why this aircraft crashed, not me, not you, not JP, nobody! One of the primary reasons for that is that the accident investigation was not conducted by the AAIB or any other professional air accident investigator, ie par for the course for a military accident. What wasn't par for the course for this accident was that the aircraft was Grossly Unairworthy prior to the crash, as were all other HC2's at that time. That was not revealed, discovered or considered by the BoI. It was not mentioned in the AOC's and AOC in C's Finding. It was not mentioned by the RAF or MOD to the FAI, the Coroner, or the HoL or HoC committees. Perhaps the fact that the authority responsible for supplying this duff aircraft to the Royal Air Force was also the authority responsible for enforcing the Airworthiness Regulations had a bearing? If the regulations had been followed then the aircraft could not have entered RAF service in that unairworthy condition. Whether or not it would still have crashed, I don't know, nor do you, nor JP, nobody! Unless....unless of course this accident were indeed to be properly investigated yet. By that I don't mean in a book, on the tele, in the papers, but by a professional air accident investigator, you know- someone like the AAIB who would add quite a lot to the story if allowed to, I'll bet!