Dead pilots family snubbed!!

The parents of one of the pilots killed in the 1994 Chinook helicopter crash on the Mull of Kintyre said they were not invited to a memorial to the lost men.
Mike Tapper, of Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, has been campaigning to clear his son Jonathan’s name after he and a co-pilot were blamed for the crash.

On Saturday a memorial was unveiled at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, attended by relatives of passengers that had died.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said no official invitations were sent out.

Mr Tapper said: “The relatives of the 25 passengers had been invited, but we hadn’t.”

RAF acted ‘disgracefully’

The father of Rick Cook (Jonathan’s co-pilot) had received an invitation “but he had to fight very hard for it,” he said.

Mr Tapper added: “They claimed they didn’t have my address and tried to blame it on a flight lieutenant at Odiham.

“It does appear in the RAF that they always want to blame a flight lieutenant.

“We know that invitations were sent out and believe this is a deliberate snub. As far as I am concerned the RAF has acted disgracefully.”

On Sunday a spokesperson for the MoD said no individual invitations had been issued.

“No one received invitations as such, but the event was widely advertised through the Royal British Legion and other RAF associations,” said the spokesman.

“Those wishing to attend would have made it known through these routes rather than personalised invitations being sent out.”