To try and keep everyone focused on the actual events which are going on, I have copied the regular updates from our contributors on to this new thread.
This thread will feature all the latest news from the trial, whilst the original thread can continue to be used for sending Spot messages of support and encouragement.
The following is an article by the Scottish Sunday Mail dated 19 Jan.
COURT DATE FOR JET DEATHS CONTROLLER EXCLUSIVE
Steve Mckenzie
AN RAF air traffic controller blamed for a double jet crash is to learn his fate this month.
American fighter pilots Kenneth Hyvonen and Kirk Jones died when their F- 15C jets slammed into the Cairngorms.
The Sunday Mail can reveal that Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Williams, of RAF Leuchars, Fife, is to face a court martial a week tomorrow in connection with the tragedy.
The hearing will be held at a Royal Naval centre in Helensburgh.
The rare move is the armed forces' most serious disciplinary hearing and can result in jail.
It is understood that the charges relate to conduct amounting to professional negligence.
Military and civilian air traffic controllers have rallied behind Flt Lt Williams while the Guild of Air Traffic Control Officers (GATCO) and droves of supporters have sent him messages of goodwill.
Sympathisers are outraged at the RAF's handling of the case. Top brass did not hold a board of inquiry, denying the officer an opportunity to give his side of the incident.
Flt Lt Williams is believed to be the first military controller in the UK to be court martialled in connection with a fatal air crash.
He was providing radar information as the US pilots trained over Scotland in March 2001. Lt-Col Hyvonen, 40, and Captain Jones, 27, died when their jets smashed into Ben Macdhui in a snow storm. But sources close to the case claim the pilots themselves, based at RAF Lakenheath, in Suffolk, were responsible for where and how low they flew.
More than 100 rescuers battled over the mountainous terrain in sub- zero temperatures and blizzards to find the missing men.
Eventually the smell of aviation fuel near the summit of the 4,284ft mountain led them to the wreckage. The bodies of Lt- Col Hyvonen and Capt Jones were found nearby.
Debris from the two jets took months to clear and more than 250 tonnes of snow had to be removed to avoid contamination of the environment by aviation fuel.
DAY 1
From the Press Association a few minutes ago...
:An RAF air traffic controller today appeared before a court martial charged with causing the death of two pilots in a double jet crash.
Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Williams, 47, was on duty at RAF Leuchars, Fife, on the day two F15C jets crashed into a Scottish mountain.
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Hyvonen, 40, and Captain Kirk Jones 27, of the United States Air Force, died in the incident at Ben Macdui in the Cairngorms during a snowstorm on March 26, 2001.
Flt Lt Williams, who had been providing radar information and was in contact with Lt Col Hyvonen, is alleged to have told the pilot to descend to 4,000ft when the minimum safe altitude in that area was 6,500ft. The descent is said to have caused the deaths of the two pilots.
Williams faces an alternative charge of negligently performing in his duties as an air traffic controller.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
...
The court martial, which is expected to last several days, opened today before seven senior RAF officers assisted by a judge advocate.
RAF Group Captain Alistair McGrigor, prosecuting, said Flt Lt Williams had “created a false environment and lulled the air crew into a false sense of security”. He said the air traffic controller had responded “inappropriately” by telling Lt Col Hyvonen, the lead pilot of the formation, to descend to 4,000ft.
However, he said Williams was not solely responsible for the accident and conceded that the pilots were responsible for the avoidance of any other air traffic and the terrain.
The court martial heard that Lt Col Hyvonen had used an American phrase “minimum vectoring altitude” which Flt Lt Williams had not queried. Lt Col Hyvonen had then asked Flt Lt Williams to confirm the descent to 4,000ft, which the air traffic controller did.
...
The court martial, before Judge Advocate Edmwnd Hoelwyn-Hughes, was to continue tomorrow at the Royal Navy base in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
From Mickydrip
Update Day1, Monday 27 Jan 03
Not much to report but before I give you a brief update of todays proceedings, I must applaud the comments of ajsh;his comments are accurate in the extreme and are to be applauded.
Todays events:
The Defence objected to one of the members of the Board, a fighter controller, who was subsequently replaced.
The charges presented were:
1. A charge of "Doing an act in relation to aircraft causing loss of life to a person contrary to Section 49". This refers to the deaths of one pilot.
2. As an alternative to the first charge- Negligently performing a duty contrary to section 29 of the Air Force Act.
3. A second charge of " Doing an act in relation to aircraft causing loss of life to a person contrary to Section 49" This refers to the death of the second pilot.
Interestingly, the Crown prosecutor conceded that terrain clearance was the responsibility of the pilot.
There are 2 major areas of conflict: the Prosecution state that Spot is negligent, the defence say NO his actions were not negligent. The prosection says there is a direct link between what Spot said to the aircraft formation and the subsequent crash; the defence believe that the link had been broken when the aircraft descended low level to the East, eventually crashing into high ground.
Day 2
From Mickydrip
Day 2, Tuesday 28th Jan 03
Another busy day for the Prosecution, with the Gp Capt calling 2 atco witnesses, one a current staff member at RAF Leuchars, the other a former training officer at the base. Incidentally, there are numerous witnesses to be called, the original list numbered 76; this has been reduced to 16, with the agreement of both sides. It’s probable that this trial will run into next week, possibly finishing on Wednesday.
Questions from the Prosecution and the Defence produced lengthy and detailed discussion on the intricacies of Flight Level/Altitude and Heights, also the vagaries of VFR, VMC, IFR and IMC. The Board members, who are all ground trade officers, looked somewhat puzzled – it’s a lot to try to grasp in a relatively short period of time. It was warming to watch the Defence QC carefully draw out from the witnesses, precise information, which was readily assimilated by all in the room; he’s certainly a talented man. A very interesting period saw him listing the various types of ATC service, carefully highlighting the shared responsibilities of both the atco and the pilot. Two other important points covered were that the Radar Vectoring Map was not displayed anywhere in the approach room, although it was available as a selectable map (containing barely readable figures for safety heights); also that the controllers were not required to commit this map to memory. Surely if that’s the case, it strikes me that a display must be considered absolutely essential. I’m told that the RV map now features heavily in the approach room.
Finally, it seems that the Judge Advocate, who has a very Dickensian look about him, has a sense of humour. When the subject of the electronic tote was raised, he questioned whether this had some gambling conotation, and smiled!
Day 3
From Mickydrip
Day 3, Wednesday 29th Jan 03.
Firstly thanks to everyone from Spot and Sue for all the good wishes and support; don’t be shy, keep it coming because they’re both surprised and delighted that so many of you care, but isn’t that the sort of people they are?
To answer a couple of points that have arisen in recent correspondence:
1. The name of the Judge Advocate is Edmwnd Hoelwyn-Hughes (spelling taken from the Daily Mail so I hope it’s OK).
2. There are a couple of queries from our Fighter Control colleagues concerning the removal of the FC specialist; I made a careful note of the reasoning on Day 1 and copy it for your information. An objection to any member of the Board can be made, under S29 (1) of the Airforce Act, on any reasonable grounds. The Defence team objected to Sqn Ldr Maguire, (not sure of the spelling), a Fighter Controller currently stationed at RAF Innsworth. It was argued that Sqn Ldr Maguire’s expertise could include matters which are special to the world of air traffic control. Experts views differ and the Defence team were apprehensive that the FC member may have an expert view, that the lay members did not, thereby prejudicing justice.
Finally, before I give a brief summary of todays events, you may be interested to know that membership of Gatco has increased dramatically as a result of recent events – a very wise move!
Ted Tilley of the Guild departed last evening, to be replaced by the President of Gatco, Richard Dawson. Three witnesses for the Prosecution were called today; the lead pilot of a Tornado formation operating in the area on the day of the accident plus 1 serving member of ATC at RAF Leuchars, and one ex member of the ATC Sqn. There were lots of questions regarding safety altitudes and the associated responsibilities of the pilot and the controller. More RIS and RAS was discussed. Spot was acknowledged as being “a very experienced, capable and competent controller” whose brother had been very seriously ill followed in quick succession by his Father, also being taken very seriously ill.
The Defence team explored the JSP 318A on the subject of safety altitudes, and the various pressure settings in use by transit aircraft. The subject of multiple inputs was discussed at length; there may be more on this subject tomorrow when the R/T tapes are expected to be played. At one point, the Board was asked to leave the court in order that a point of law, submitted by the Defence team, could be examined by the Judge Advocate. After a short adjournment, the Judge Advocate found in favour of the Defence team and the case continued.
The lead pilot of the Tornado formation was quizzed on the weather conditions in the area just 1 hour before the accident. He said that the snow showers were passing through rapidly and in some areas it was possible to fly comfortably beneath the cloud in the valleys, although the deteriorating visibility and lowering cloud base created “white-out” conditions. He was quizzed by the Defence team regarding the visible differences between the Tornado GR4 and the F15c, large fin, longer nose, different intakes etc; this may be leading somewhere......
In summary, yesterday was another day when things seemed togo to plan. Our rising hopes are tempered by the knowledge that the stakes are still high and that the Prosecution has 1 big batter to call tomorrow. Also in our minds is the fact that the widow of Lt Col Hyvonen, the flight leader, sits just 15 feet away; she is clearly upset by procedings.
On a lighter note, the Spot Support Group, received 2 rollickings today. The first from the landlady for making too much noise after the pubs kicked out – we’ve told Doleman to be quiet in future! The second was from the admin Sqn Ldr running the court who politely asked us to stop shaking our heads and making other such gestures during the giving of evidence by the Prosecution witnesses. We’ve asked Turner to stop muttering bo**ocks under his breath. Suitably chastised we left for the pub. More tomorrow.
Day 4
From Mickydrip
Day 4, Thursday 30th January 03
I’ve just remembered who the Judge Advocate resembles – Wilfred Hyde White (who I hear you say!?); it’s true to say that we’ve all warmed to him, although after what the landlady said, I’m not sure he’d want to be part of this particular group!
Not a dynamic day today – the Prosecutions’ big hitter was expected to make an appearance but was not called; the strong rumour is that he’ll be first on stage tomorrow, I’ll let you know tomorrow. Incidentally, tomorrows posting might be a bit behind the curve as we’re all shipping out and heading home but, be patient, it’ll get there.
Prosecution called 5 witnesses: 1 on the current strength @ Leuchars, also the Supervisor on the day of the incident, the President of the Board of Enquiry (Wg Cdr Navigator) plus 2 controllers from Lossiemouth who were on the landline to receive Spots handover of Bite 21, the 2 F15’s.
Lots of old ground was covered once again, RIS/RAS and Radar Vector Chart featuring very heavily throughout. 2 questions from the Defence team elicited correct answers, the importance of which were not lost on the Board (I hope). The subject was ‘descent to low level’, having accepted that the Radar Vectoring Chart refers to QFE and is only designed for the recovery of inbound aircraft “Can an aircraft quite properly be cleared to descend to 4000ft ?” – Answer “Yes”. “Am I right in thinking that the height an aircraft descends to is a matter of the pilots choosing?” – Answer, “Yes”. Why are we still here I hear you ask!
The Prosecution placed great credence on the map produced for the Board of Enquiry by the President of same (as stated, a Navigator). This map had been produced from information provided by Scottish Military and the RCC, was converted from range and bearing information into Lat & Long for plotting purposes. All looked good until the Defence QC asked for the accuracy of the plotting data and was told it was about a quarter of a mile on that scale of map. When asked how accurate was the radar data provided by Scottish, the witness did not know. Additionally he was unable to confirm that the software used by RCC to convert the data was calibrated, and to what scale. The map showed the crash site as being on the summit, in fact the aircraft hit about 500metres to the East of the peak. The last straw was when questioned about the drawn track between the last position report and what was purported to be the crash site (it appears as a straight line), the witness confirmed that he’d drawn the straight line himself; the fighters could, of course have done a couple of 360’s for weather between those 2 points. The Wg Cdr also mentioned to the Board of Inquiry that he’d been selected to be President of the BOI. They had collected a great deal of information but were suspended as a Board by the convening authority, an AVM, and turned their findings over to the police. Nobody has offered an explanation as to why the Board was not reconvened after the police investigation.
On return from lunch, (they serve a nice pint of 70/- in the local) a bombshell was dropped, wisely by the Defence QC. He stated for the Judge Advocate’s ruling, that a newspaper report indicated that the Procurator Fiscal in Elgin had stated that there was certainly a case to answer for unlawful killing; the court went very quiet; it was an uncomfortable moment. Much to everyones surprise, the Judge Advocate thanked the QC and asked “What’s it got to do with him? (i.e. the Procurator Fiscal); disregard it and completely put it out of your minds, let’s get on”.