An RAF helicopter armed with sophisticated defence systems was unable to shake-off a surface-to-air missile fired at it from a building in Basra, in southern Iraq, an inquest was told yesterday.

The Lynx helicopter’s three crew members and two passengers, one of them a woman, Flight Lieutenant Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill, were killed instantly when the missile struck on May 6 last year.

Andrew Walker, Oxfordshire deputy assistant coroner, said that he was satisfied that none of the Lynx helicopter’s flares had been launched, despite eyewitness reports to the contrary. If deployed, the flares might have drawn the missile away but the flare pods on the helicopter were full, the inquest was told. Mr Walker said that other defensive systems had also failed to stop the missile.

Although he had uncovered many failings from the evidence inquest, one of which was of a serious nature, none had caused or contributed “to the loss of life and these matters have been resolved”, Mr Walker said.

Details of the helicopter’s antimissile systems and the reasons why they failed to prevent one of the worst disasters suffered by the Armed Forces in Iraq were not revealed because of a request by the Ministry of Defence for all matters relating to the Lynx’s defensive systems to be discussed in camera.

Mr Walker agreed to the request “to protect national security and to protect the lives of those on active service”.

He ruled that those who died on the flight – Flight Lieutenant Mulvihill, 32 and Wing Commander John Coxen, 46, both of whom were passengers, and Captain David Dobson, 27, the pilot, Lieutenant-Commander Darren Chapman, 40, the aircraft commander, and Marine Paul Collins, 21, the gunner – had been unlawfully killed. He described the attack as “a terrorist act”.

The inquest was told that the Lynx crew was aware of intelligence reports that insurgents in the area were plotting to shoot down British aircraft in Basra. There had been a number of intelligence tip-offs.

Mr Walker said that this intelligence had been passed to the crew but it had not affected the decision to fly missions over Basra.

He added that those on board the Lynx were unaware that they were about to be attacked by a missile.

Flight Lieutenant Mulvihill, the first British servicewoman to be killed by enemy action in Iraq, was not originally scheduled to on the flight. She was substituted for her commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Leakey, an hour before take-off.

In a statement after the inquest, the MoD said that the RAF’s internal board of inquiry had made a number of recommendations. “All of these were accepted and action has been taken to implement them,” the statement said.

The ministry added: “Although the MoD strives to ensure that our Armed Forces have the best equipment, training and procedures, oper-ational flying is not risk-free. The MoD takes all available measures to minimise the risk.”

Mike Collins, father of Marine Collins, said after the inquest: “I would like to pay tribute to the fine, fine people who lost their lives serving their country that day.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• TV bidding war starts over Olympics
• Sofas were larger than life in TV adverts
• Driver pays fine with wheelbarrow of pennies