AN experienced Army mountaineer died in a tragic accident when he lost his footing and fell during a military exercise, an inquest heard yesterday.

Major David Knight, 53, was walking on Ben Cruacahan at Taynuilt, near Oban, when he slipped and fell down a steep slope.

The father-of-two had been on the hill with two other experienced instructors to prepare for an adventure training exercise when the accident happened on May 25.

His colleagues rushed to his aid, but Maj Knight, an enthusiastic and experienced mountaineer, died at the scene from head injuries.

Corporal Barry Fraser, who witnessed the accident, said they were carrying out a reconnaissance when the weather deteriorated dramatically.

He said: "Major Knight was walking about ten to 15m in front of me with his dog between us.

''The next time I saw him, he was slipping down on his backside over a large piece of rock. He dropped out of sight."

Lieutenant-Colonel John Adams, who investigated the incident, said Mr Knight was a skilled mountaineer, who had been praised for his thoroughness and meticulous planning.

He told the inquest at Chester-le-Street: "Although the conditions deteriorated, they were normal for the area.

"By its very nature, adventure training is designed to take trainees beyond the comfort zone and see how they do.

"It was within what we would term a safe system. All three were qualified and competent to do what they were doing."

Lt-Col Adams added the tragedy had been an "accident, pure and simple", with Maj Knight losing his footing in a "momentary lapse of concentration".

Recording a verdict of accidental death, County Durham Coroner Andrew Tweedle told Maj Knight's widow, Liz, and her teenage son: "From the evidence that I have heard, particularly from Corporal Fraser, this seems to have been a very unfortunate accident."

Maj Knight, from Richmond, North Yorkshire, joined the Army as a boy soldier in 1967 and enlisted into the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, a tank regiment.

He was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps as a Second Lieutenant in June 1991. He served in Northern Ireland, Kenya, Yugoslavia, Kuwait and, most recently, in Iraq, and was awarded five service medals.