Tri-Service

Soldiers Sue Over Plane Plunge

Nine soldiers and a civil servant are reported to be suing the Ministry of Defence after their military transport aircraft plummeted 4,400ft when the pilot’s camera got stuck.

The passengers' lawyer told The Sunday Times that they have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the incident which happened as they flew to Afghanistan from the UK in February 2014.

They were among 198 passengers on the RAF Voyager, which is the military version of an Airbus A330.

The plane was flying at 33,000ft over the Black Sea when the captain’s camera became wedged against the jet’s controls.

Some of the crew and passengers were bashed against the roof of the cabin as the aircraft plummeted at up to 15,800ft a minute.

The jet was in a nosedive for about 27 seconds before the pilot got the aircraft under control with the help of the co-pilot who had been outside the cabin and experienced weightlessness during the dive.

The co-pilot allegedly had to plant his feet on the roof of the cabin as he and the pilot initially struggled to control the plane.

A major, a warrant officer, two staff sergeants, four corporals and one civilian employee are suing the MoD for putting them at risk.

Three of them were medically discharged from the military after the incident, which they feared was a result of being shot at.

Minor injuries were suffered by 33 passengers.

Rhicha Kapila, from the law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp, is representing eight men and two women who are suing the MoD for ‘breaching its duty of care’.

Miss Kapila told the Sunday Times:

"Some of them assumed the plane was being shot down over Afghanistan.Personal items were being propelled to the back of the plane, passengers were screaming, lots of them were crying, they could hear people saying, “Please don’t let me die."

The MoD said:

"We cannot comment on individual cases but when compensation claims are submitted , we will carefully consider whether there is a legal liability to pay compensation. Where there is, we will."