Last surviving parent of Mull of Kintyre RAF Chinook crash victims, dies aged 96
The father of one of the victims of the 1994 Mull of Kintyre RAF Chinook crash has died aged 96 after a nearly 32-year wait for answers, as families prepare to meet the Victims Minister.
John Dockerty, whose eldest son Major Christoper Dockerty was among the 29 people killed when RAF Chinook ZD576 crashed into a hillside in foggy weather, was the oldest member of the long-running campaign for the truth about the disaster and was the last surviving parent of any of the victims.
The families of the Chinook disaster are scheduled to meet the UK government's Victims Minister, Alex Davies-Jones, this week as they pursue the release of all the documents and a judge-led inquiry into the tragedy.
In London, the group and Sorcha Eastwood, the MP leading the cross-party group supporting the families, will press for a response to the dossier of evidence that they presented to three Ministry of Defence ministers in December.
The dossier, which includes official MOD papers uncovered by the campaign, details the Chinook Mk2 aircraft's lack of airworthiness and is accompanied by 335 unanswered questions about the crash.
"My father spent the last 32 years wondering why his eldest son and my brother Chris [Maj Dockerty] died. He died still fighting for answers," Nicola Rawcliffe, Mr Dockerty's daughter and a member of the campaign group, said.
"He campaigned with dignity and determination, but it is heartbreaking that he died without the Government and MOD acknowledging the truth about the circumstances surrounding the crash."
Ms Rawcliffe added that she was "devastated" after her father’s death, saying that she is "horrified that he never saw justice for Chris".
It is thought that Mr Dockerty was the last surviving parent of anyone who perished in the crash.
Mr Dockerty recorded several videos last year, thanking the campaign group and supporters for carrying on the fight for answers and condemning the MOD.
Since his death, Ms Rawcliffe has found letters he wrote after the crash saying he never believed that the two pilots were to blame and calling for better treatment and equipment for personnel.
"These families are not simply bereaved. They are victims who have spent more than three decades trying to establish the truth of how their loved ones died," Mark Stephens, the families' solicitor from Howard Kennedy LLP, said.
"The continued refusal to fully address the serious questions surrounding the crash has left many of them suffering what psychologists describe as ambiguous loss.
"That is trauma that occurs when families are denied clear answers about what happened."
Mr Dockerty's funeral will take place at the end of this month.
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