2007 Royal Air Force Puma crash

Helicopter crash in England August 2026 August 2026 2007 Hudswell Grange Puma crash A Royal Air Force Puma helicopter over the English countryside.jpg A green-liveried helicopter above some green fields, shot air-to-air ZA934; the airframe involved in the incident Occurrence 2007 8 8 y Helicopter crashed after being flown unprofessionally Hudswell Grange, North Yorkshire, England 54.3848 -1.7853 type:event inline,title 3 9 Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma Puma Royal Air Force ZA934 12 9 3 On 8 August 2007, a Royal Air Force Puma helicopter of No. 33 Squadron, crashed in a wooded area near to Hudswell Grange, Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, England. The crash resulted in the deaths of three service personnel, and injuries, some serious, to the other nine service members aboard the helicopter. A coroner later attributed the crash to "inadequate administration, airmanship and discipline on the part of the Royal Air Force." The surviving pilot was court-martialled, but was given a suspended sentence, partly due to him being a paraplegic as a result of the crash. Aircraft The airframe involved was a Puma HC1 helicopter number ZA934, which was delivered to the Royal Air Force in 1980 as a second batch of Puma helicopters with a standard crew of two pilots and one loadmaster.Gardner Richard E. British service helicopters: a pictorial history 1985 Robert Hale London 0709021275 219 Records show that in 1993, the airframe was assigned to No. 33 Squadron, and it was still working for 33 Sqn at the time of the incident.Carroll I United Kingdom air arms 1993 1993 Mach III Plus Uxbridge 0951546279 66 It has, however, been used in the first Gulf War, and in 1998, was assigned to No. 230 Squadron at Aldergrove in the late 1990s.James Derek N Westland aircraft since 1915 2001 Putnam Books London 9780851778471 509Lake Alan Flying units of the RAF: the ancestry, formation and disbandment of all flying units from 1912 1999 Airlife Shrewsbury 1840370866 245 At the time of the incident, the aircraft was costed at £20 million (UK 20,000,000 2007 eq £ -3).NewsBank InfoWeb Login https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWGLNB&t=continent%3AEurope%21Europe/country%3AEngland%21England&sort=YMD_date%3AA&page=14&hide_duplicates=0&offset=61&maxresults=20&fld-base-0=alltext&val-base-0=catterick%20helicopter%20crash&docref=news/13C5F9C3C4BA4FD8 20 August 2026 The York Press 19 January 2012 Newsbank.com subscription Incident The aircraft had been detached from RAF Benson (where No. 33 Squadron had been located at that time) to RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire for a training exercise in and around Catterick Garrison. Onboard were nine trainee soldiers who were only four weeks into their training at the Infantry Training Centre (ITC), which is based at Catterick Garrison.BOI 2011 1.3-1 (16)Jenkins Russell Evans Michael Two killed after RAF Helicopter flipped and plunged to the ground The Times 69087 10 August 2007 29 0140-0460 It crashed near to a farm at Hudswell Grange (SE139987 SE139987) just before 21:00, and later the MoD stated that all personnel were in hospitals in either Newcastle or Middlesbrough, after a rescue effort involving helicopters from RAF Boulmer and RAF Leconfield, and an RAF Mountain Rescue team from RAF Leeming, in conjunction with civilian rescue services.BOI 2011 CoverWainwright Martin Flight plans checked after RAF helicopter crash kills 2 https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/aug/10/military.martinwainwright 19 July 2026 The Guardian 9 August 2007Military helicopter crashes in woods close to army garrison The Times 69086 9 August 2007 4 0140-0460Weaver Matthew Topping Alexandra RAF helicopter crash victims named https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/aug/09/military.matthewweaver 20 July 2026 The Guardian 9 August 2007 The aircraft was described as flying low and erratically, so much so, that another military crew in a Chinook helicopter radioed the crew and told them to "calm down".Willis Joe Air crash claims ‘are speculation’ https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/4547982.coroner-open-minded-helicopter-crash-hudswell-grange-near-catterick/ 19 July 2026 The Northern Echo 15 August 2009 Witnesses to the helicopter's crash described it as pitching suddenly sideways, crashing into brush and woodland, and then breaking into three pieces. According to the Board of Inquiry (BoI), the helicopter continued on a forward momentum along the ground for 200 m after its initial contact with the ground, and that one of the pilots and the loadmaster died at the scene, with one of the soldiers aboard dying 48 hours later in hospital.BOI 2011 1.3-1 (16)Crash victim, 17, dies The Times 69088 11 August 2007 4 0140-0460 Both pilots had been strapped into their seats, but the seats had been thrown clear of the helicopter.Pilot was urged to ‘throw it about’ https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/4673250.puma-crash-hearing-told-training-officers-remorse/ 20 July 2026 The Northern Echo 9 October 2009 Nine other service personnel aboard were taken to hospital.Copter crash victims inquest opens https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/1618034.copter-crash-victims-inquest-opens/ 20 July 2026 York Press 15 August 2007 Aftermath A Board of Inquiry (BoI) was set up following the crash, but after analysis of the cockpit-voice recorder (CVR), all data was passed to North Yorkshire Police so they could conduct an inquiry.BOI 2011 1.3-1 (16) A civilian coroner sitting at Harrogate delivered a report in October 2009; in it they described the crash as being caused by "inadequate administration, airmanship and discipline on the part of the Royal Air Force," and also that "...tactical manoeuvres, mostly below 30 metres, were excessive in number and irregularity … [the pilot] was attempting a flying manoeuvre which was beyond his capabilities, or those of the Puma, or both."Wainwright Martin RAF pilot flying beyond capabilities before fatal crash, says coroner https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/oct/26/raf-pilot-puma-crash-ruling 20 August 2026 The Guardian 26 October 2009 It was later reported that the crew had engaged in dangerously low-flying tactics, including flying only 5 ft flip above a taxi to scare the driver, and had blared music over the loudspeaker and shouted out phrases from the film Top Gun.Norfolk` Andrew RAF under fire over fatal Puma crash The Times 69777 27 October 2009 3 0140-0460 The coroner criticised the lack of paperwork which led to doubts about the qualifications of the pilots, and also that the co-pilot had been allowed to fly given that he had been involved in a near-miss with two other aircraft only days before the incident.Weighell Phillipa Helicopter crash errors revealed https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/4665828.inquest-finds-series-errors-puma-helicopter-crash-near-catterick-garrison/ 20 July 2026 The Northern Echo 6 October 2009 After coroner had delivered their report, a new service inquiry was initiated in December 2009.BOI 2011 1.3-1 (16) The service inquiry does not seek to apportion blame, and their findings determined that on the last training sortie of the day, the aircraft went into a dive that it could not recover from, after its tail rotor had come into contact with the ground.Ministry of Defence findings of Puma ZA934 service inquiry https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/commons-vote-office/4.Defence-FindingsofPuma.pdf www.parliament.uk 20 July 2026 17 January 2012 1 The service inquiry highlighted contributing factors as being " the crew’s combined relative inexperience, the lack of robust crew supervision; human factors; manning shortfalls; the high operational task load placed upon 33 Squadron; and the reduced opportunity, because of this task load, for supervised consolidation and reinforcement training."Ministry of Defence findings of Puma ZA934 service inquiry https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/commons-vote-office/4.Defence-FindingsofPuma.pdf www.parliament.uk 20 July 2026 17 January 2012 1–2 The officer commanding Joint Helicopter Command (which had No. 33 Squadron as a subordinate in its chain of command) also found that "the crew’s lack of adherence to checks; operating procedures; and their flight at below the authorised minimum level," contributed to the crash.Ministry of Defence findings of Puma ZA934 service inquiry https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/commons-vote-office/4.Defence-FindingsofPuma.pdf www.parliament.uk 20 July 2026 17 January 2012 2 The co-pilot who survived was later tried in a military court, though he pleaded guilty, the court accepted that he was not flying the aircraft at the time, and suspended his sentence, in part due to him being a paraplegic as a result of the incident.Butterworth Julie Co-pilot of RAF helicopter in fatal crash during jolly' avoids jail https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWGLNB&t=continent%3AEurope%21Europe/country%3AEngland%21England&sort=YMD_date%3AA&page=13&hide_duplicates=0&offset=61&maxresults=20&fld-base-0=alltext&val-base-0=catterick%20helicopter%20crash&docref=news/13BD0A9F2DDE2830 20 August 2026 The Yorkshire Post 16 December 2011 Newsbank.com subscription However, even though he was not piloting the airframe, the court highlighted that he had a duty of care to the passengers and crew on the aircraft.RAF helicopter crash co-pilot spared jail https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16227941 19 July 2026 BBC News 16 December 2011 References Sources Royal Air Force Service Inquiry into an Aircraft Accident or Incident 27 January 2011 assets.publishing.service.gov.uk https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a79019de5274a277e691275/20111201_redacted_puma_za934_si.pdf 19 July 2026 Ministry of Defence London BOI 2011 External links Accident Safety Network webpage Category:Accidents and incidents involving military helicopters Category:Accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in England Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2007 Category:History of North Yorkshire Category:2007 in England Category:August 2007 in the United Kingdom Category:2007 disasters in the United Kingdom Category:2000s in North Yorkshire Category:Military history of North Yorkshire