The first servicewoman to die in combat in Iraq was killed instantly in a ball of fire after the Lynx helicopter she was travelling in was struck by a shoulder-launched missile over Basra, an inquest was told yesterday.

Flight Lieutenant Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill, 32, and four others, including a senior RAF officer, died in the explosion in May last year. The crippled helicopter crashed on to an empty building in the city.

The moment when the Lynx was struck was described by a witness who saw the helicopter explode. Private Stuart Drummond told Oxford Coroner’s Court: “I saw two yellowy objects going towards the helicopter at some speed. Between noticing it and its impacting the helicopter it was about two to three seconds.”

He told Andrew Walker, the Oxfordshire assistant deputy coroner, that he thought that the helicopter had been hit by a missile before it exploded.

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The other victims of one of the worst incidents in Basra last year were Wing Commander John Coxen, 47, Captain David Dobson, 27, of the Army Air Corps, Lieutenant-Commander Darren Chapman, 40, of 847 Naval Air Squadron, and Marine Paul Collins, 21, serving with the same squadron.

Flight Lieutenant Mulvihill was an RAF flight operations manager. Wing Commander Coxen had recently arrived in Basra and was in the helicopter as part of a familiarisation trip. Both were based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire. The other three victims were based at Yeovilton in Somerset.

Private Drummond said that just before the helicopter was hit, the Lynx “lifted as though it was trying to move out of the way. It sort of jerked”.

Corporal Stuart Redmond, another witness, said that he too had seen the helicopter jerk to one side. Lance Corporal Dale Birkin told the coroner that he saw flares being fired before the aircraft burst into flames, indicating that the pilot was trying at the last moment to draw the approaching missile away from the helicopter.

He said that he noted where the missile smoke trails appeared to have come from, and later British troops searched the area but did not find those responsible for the attack.

The coroner told the families of the victims that for security reasons demanded by the Ministry of Defence, he would not allow them to hear details of all the Lynx’s defence systems.

The inquest, expected to last four days, continues today.

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