Lessons have been learnt, senior RAF officials said last night as the families of servicemen killed in a helicopter crash spoke of their hopes that others would not go through what they had.

Joe Willis reports.

RAF says lessons have been learnt from crash tragedy IN an emotional conclusion to the inquest, the parents of the three men who died when their RAF Puma plummeted to the ground yesterday revealed their heartache.

In a statement read as the coroner prepared to make his final summing-up, the parents of Private Sean Tait said: “It is our deepest hope that lessons have been learnt by all concerned, so no other family has to go through the loss and pain we feel on a daily basis.”

The family said Pte Tait, who had only been in the Army four weeks, was just beginning his career.

The statement said: “(It was a) career he was really looking forward to. As his mum and dad, we know he would have gone on to make great achievements in the Army.”

Speaking exclusively to The Northern Echo after the accident, Valerie Sale, the mother of Flight Lieutenant David Sale, told how the day before the crash, her son had landed on the hockey field at Norton, near Stockton – only yards from the family’s first home in Junction Road.

She said: “We went down to the sports club and watched from the bridge.

“We saw him coming in and we saw him land.

“He was there for about a minute to two minutes. The next day, he was dead.”

Yesterday, she had to be helped to her feet as she was overcome with emotion during the coroner’s summing-up.

Her husband, John, thanked coroner Geoff Fell for the way the inquest had been conducted.

He said the hearing had been hard for his family, and said: “David loved his job and was determined to be very proficient at it.”

The family of Sergeant Phillip Burfoot said: “He will always be remembered with love and pride.

“We hope that lessons have been learnt so no young man or woman loses their life in circumstances such as this again.”

Speaking outside Harrogate Magistrates’ Court after the hearing, Group Captain Jonathan Burr, the commander at RAF Benson, in Oxfordshire, said changes had been made at the base since the accident.

He said: “The verdict today will reinforce action we have already taken.

“We have changed the way that we supervise, manage and task our Puma operations, both at home and overseas, to ensure that such events are not repeated, as far as is humanly possible.”

Capt Burr offered his condolences to the friends and families of the three men who died, describing them as truly inspirational.

He praised them for their courage in dealing with their loss, together with the additional pressures of the ongoing investigation.