Coroner Geoff Fell yesterday gave a damning verdict after hearing about the catalogue of errors which led up to the Catterick Puma helicopter tragedy. Philippa Weighell reports on what went wrong.

BY the end of the inquest’s first day, on Monday, October 5, Geoff Fell had already identified what he called a “thread of errors” leading to the fatal crash.

Lost and incomplete paperwork, doubts over the qualifications of the men flying the helicopter, cockpit voice recordings of them whooping and laughing minutes before the crash, and witness accounts of “erratic” flying dominated the proceedings for the next three weeks.

Mr Fell even called the crew in charge of the helicopter a “sloppy outfit”, a remark for which he later apologised, having received a letter of complaint from the MoD.

Flight Lieutenant David Sale, 28, from Norton, near Stockton, Sergeant Phillip Burfoot, 27, from Cardiff, and 17-year-old Glaswegian Private Sean Tait all died when their RAF Puma crashed into a field near Hudswell on August 8, 2007.

By the end of the inquest into their deaths, Mr Fell concluded: “Flt Lt Sale was flying beyond his capabilities, those of the Puma, or both.”

The Puma had travelled to Catterick Garrison the previous day from RAF Benson, in Oxfordshire, for a two-day training visit.

On the morning of August 8, the 12 men – including a group of young Army recruits four weeks into their training – set out for their second day of exercises.

Flt Lt Bobby Hamilton, who was left paraplegic as a result of his injuries, phoned his girlfriend that afternoon – after the crew had stopped off to eat fish and chips – to say it was “the best day’s flying ever”.

But Mr Fell said a “culture of lax management” at RAF Benson had led to vital documents going missing, meaning it was impossible to say whether Flt Lt Hamilton or Flt Lt Paul Carlon, who flew the day before the crash, were fully qualified to fly.

He said: “There is no document to show this crew were properly ratified.”

Other errors included:

● The fact that Flt Lt Hamilton had been involved in a near miss with two other aircraft three days previously, but had still been allowed to fly;

● The fact that crews had been recorded laughing, swearing and whooping throughout the final flight and up to the crash itself;

● Ill-fitting harnesses and a “messy” helicopter cabin, possibly exacerbating any injuries sustained by crewmen;

● Crew were only authorised to fly down to 500ft, but in fact flew below 100ft;

● Lack of any direct trail of accountability at RAF Benson for lost documents and missing signatures.

At about 8.50pm on the evening of August 5, after numerous sightings of it flying “dangerously and erratically”, the Puma crashed.

A simulation shown in court showed the helicopter banking right over a building before crashing to the ground tail-first.

The tail broke off, causing the body to spin and overturn, crashing through a line of trees before coming to a rest.

Flt Lt Sale and Sgt Burfoot were pronounced dead at the scene, but Private Tait survived for two days before dying of his injuries.

Recording a narrative verdict into the deaths, Mr Fell said: “Against a background of deteriorating administration, airmanship and discipline, the helicopter crashed.”