Families pay tribute to 86-year-old Hampshire pilot who helped clear Chinook crash pilots' names
Robert Burke died after a short illness
The families of those killed in the 1994 RAF Chinook disaster have paid tribute to a former RAF chief test pilot from Hampshire who has died aged 86.
Former Squadron Leader Robert Burke died on Monday 26th October following a short illness.
A former Chinook test pilot, he was ordered by his superiors at the time to stop assisting the investigation into the crash.
Campaigners say he went on to become one of the most important figures in the families' decades-long fight for justice.
What Robert Burke told investigators
The Chinook Justice Campaign says Mr Burke played a crucial role in helping to clear the names of the two pilots who were blamed for the disaster.
It says he helped compile a substantial dossier of technical evidence about the Chinook HC.2's lack of airworthiness, and challenged the Ministry of Defence's account of the crash.
In evidence to the House of Lords in October 2001, Mr Burke revealed he had been ordered to stop assisting the Air Accidents Investigation Branch following the crash.
He said he was instructed "not to communicate with anyone about the accident".
The campaign says documents he shared showed the aircraft had been cleared for operational flying against the advice of the military test establishment at Boscombe Down.
It says test pilots and engineers there described the helicopter as "positively dangerous" and not to be relied upon in any way whatsoever.
In the BBC documentary Chinook: Zulu Delta 576, broadcast in 2024, Mr Burke said the fatal mission was a flight by the RAF to prove to the army that the aircraft was safe.
He also said in the documentary: "This aircraft had been cleared against the advice of Boscombe Down – the joint services test establishment – and it had been cleared by at least two senior Air Marshals for operational flying. So, it was obvious what was going to happen, and it did – there would be some kind of cover-up."
The crash and the campaign
Chinook ZD576 crashed on the Mull of Kintyre on 2nd June 1994.
Flight Lieutenants Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook died alongside 27 passengers and crew.
A finding of gross negligence against the two pilots was overturned in 2011.
The campaign says Mr Burke's evidence contributed to the long campaign that led to that decision.
It says he did not regard the exoneration of the pilots as the end of the matter, and continued to assist the bereaved families in their efforts to establish why an aircraft with such serious airworthiness concerns had been permitted to fly.
More than 30 years after the disaster, his testimony was cited in the families' High Court legal challenge calling for a fresh, independent investigation into the crash.
Tributes from the families
Susan Phoenix, from Dorset, who has campaigned for 32 years for the truth about the crash, said: "It is heartbreaking that Robert has died without seeing the MoD admit to the truth, but it makes us even more determined to get justice and a fresh inquiry independent of the MoD.
"He knew that vital questions remained unanswered and that the families deserved better, and he told us recently that he would do anything for the campaign to ensure we got to the truth.
"The greatest tribute we can pay him is to continue the fight and ensure the evidence he worked so tirelessly to uncover is finally, properly, examined and that the MoD stops marking its own homework. That's why we hope that the Prime Minister agrees to meet us and will help us to carry Robert's legacy forward."
Chris Cook, from Hampshire, who spent years campaigning to clear his brother's name, said: "Robert was an officer of great integrity and professionalism. When he retired and courageously stepped forward to support the Chinook Pilots' campaign for justice, he brought forward clear evidence that proved, more than ever, how unjust the accusations of gross negligence were.
"His knowledge, experience and witness testimony were critical in the long campaign to clear the pilots' names, achieving success, no question! Both the Cook and Tapper families can never thank Robert enough."
Retired RAF Wing Commander Bill Southcombe, from Somerset, one of Mr Burke's closest friends and a former colleague flying the Vulcan aircraft, said: "Robert was an exceptional man, and a wonderful swashbuckling character, who was the life and soul of every party, but who also spoke truth to power and, as we know, was not intimidated by his superiors. He was fearless, extraordinarily knowledgeable and utterly committed to the truth. We have lost not just an expert, but a dear friend."
Second loss for the campaign this year
Mr Burke's death follows the loss earlier this year of aeronautical engineer David Hill, who spent years examining the Chinook's airworthiness failures and challenging the official account of the disaster.
The campaign's eldest member, 96-year-old John Dockerty, whose son Chris died in the crash, has also died this year.
Nicola Rawcliffe, from Diss in Norfolk, John Dockerty's daughter, said: "Robert has been a lynchpin of our campaign over three decades. We cannot pay tribute to him highly enough and we cannot believe another campaigner and source of truth has died this year. The MoD thinks it can keep the truth hidden until we all die off, but that won't happen.
"While his death is another devastating blow to the campaign, we will fight on until we get justice in tribute to him, to David Hill and my father and to keep their legacies alive."
Petition
The families are urging people to join more than 50,000 others who have signed their petition at change.org/JusticeForThe29.
It calls on the Prime Minister to meet the families and order a fresh review that is independent of the Ministry of Defence.