Hercules crash: 20 years on their loss still haunts me
4 min read
On the 30 of January 2005, Royal Air Force Hercules XV179 was shot down whilst on a routine flight from Baghdad.
All 10 military personnel on board were killed – my friends and colleagues, who I knew as Steady, Smudge, Gary Nic, Pards, Gibbo, Bob, Richie, Jonesy, Dave and Paddy. Ten brilliant people, leaving behind 10 grieving families.
The loss of XV179 haunts me every January. I was part of Steady’s crew but had been subbed out to replace a colleague a month prior due to sickness. Smudge stepped in to replace me. Instead of his fate, I have the memory of handing over to him. Now, the image of a young, happy and hopeful Smudge, looking forward to his upcoming detachment, is burned into my memory forever.
We owe it to them to ensure such risk is never taken without necessity, or without knowledge
Many of us who have served in the forces live with this same feeling – not survivor’s guilt, but something similar. All we can do is channel it – into commemoration, into care for the bereaved, and into our determination to do more to stop such tragedies recurring.
The thing is, XV179 should never have been lost. It was on a routine logistical mission, flying over areas dominated by insurgents, when it was hit by fire from the ground. Enemy shots weren’t unexpected, but they hit an unprotected fuel tank, causing a fire and explosion which destroyed the right wing and made the aircraft uncontrollable. There was nothing the crew could do – but this loss could have been prevented.
The Board of Inquiry found that the causes of XV179’s crash could have been addressed by fitting fire suppression around the fuel tanks. This risk was fully mitigated by the US Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force for their C-130s by the time of the tragedy. It had been recognised within the RAF, too, but actions to address it were far from complete.
Military operations can never be free of risk. Those who serve know this, and it is essential that we, as the public, understand this too. But those protecting us today also face risks that could be mitigated, given the right resources or leadership decisions. We need those with the knowledge of such disasters in the making to be empowered, speak up, and be listened to.
This bears comparison with other tragedies, including Hillsborough and Grenfell Tower. In these cases, we know that failures to address risk, listen to warnings, and take responsibility were at the heart of events. For cases like these, the duty of candour within the Government’s forthcoming Hillsborough law will be significant in bringing about change. However, we can’t simply translate this to military contexts affected by unique considerations of secrecy and the chain of command
While I was in the military, I saw both excellent and poor practice at dealing with such issues and was focused on the need for the chain of command to work better at addressing risks. Now that I stand on the civilian side, as an MP and member of the Defence Select Committee, I can see the equal importance of candour in how Parliament and the public are informed about the challenges defence faces and the changes needed.
On Monday, the opposition brought a UQ about the 2.5 per cent target for defence spending. Hypocrisy aside, this is a massively important issue, not least because measures to prevent further tragedies like XV179 do cost money. But to make progress, we must be able to look beyond headline numbers and engage with concrete examples of how resources help keep our people safe and effective. This is how to have an informed debate that connects with the public.
My friends, lost on that awful day twenty years ago, died in service to our country. It is the nature of that service to take the ultimate risk to protect others. We owe it to them to ensure such risk is never taken without necessity, or without knowledge.
Calvin Bailey, Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead
PoliticsHome Newsletters
Get the inside track on what MPs and Peers are talking about. Sign up to The House's morning email for the latest insight and reaction from Parliamentarians, policy-makers and organisations.
