Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

No Tornado crash inquiry because RAF crew were “not working”

The funeral of Flight Lieutenant Samuel Bailey, 36, today at Saint Gerardines Church in Lossiemouth
The funeral of Flight Lieutenant Samuel Bailey, 36, today at Saint Gerardines Church in Lossiemouth

A fatal accident inquiry into the 2012 Tornado crash was not automatic because the three RAF Lossiemouth crew were not deemed to be “at work” on the day they died.

The Crown Office states that a court hearing of this type “must take place when a death is caused by an accident at work”.

Jimmy Jones, who lives in Forres and worked at RAF Kinloss before he retired, has been following the issues surrounding the collision over the Moray Firth.

He contacted the Crown Office to find out why it was deliberating over an FAI, when such a hearing would normally be mandatory.

Flight Lieutenant Hywel Poole (left), Flight Lieutenant Adam Sanders (centre) and Squadron Leader Samuel Bailey were killed in the crash
Flight Lieutenant Hywel Poole (left), Flight Lieutenant Adam Sanders (centre) and Squadron Leader Samuel Bailey were killed in the crash

In correspondence seen by the Press and Journal, an official responded to explain that members of the armed forces on duty were not considered to be within the course of “employment” and therefore not within the scope of the Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976.

The official highlighted the Stair Memorial Encyclopedia on Armed Forces as saying “the terms of engagement of members of the Armed Forces are not contractual. All such members are appointed by the Crown under the Royal Prerogative and hold their appointments whatever their rank at the Crown’s pleasure. They may be dismissed at any time without notice and without any cause being assigned”.

Mr Jones has written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to ask for a review of the case.

In the letter, he said: “From the information that I have gathered since the accident it is clear that there are many facts and views missing from the Service Inquiry report and only an FAI will bring them out into the open.”