Families of 29 men who died in an RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre in June 1994 are pushing the government to open a new inquiry.

After 31 long years, Dr Susan Phoenix is still searching for the truth over the circumstances of the husband Ian’s death.

Ian Phoenix (51), a detective superintendent- focused on counter terrorism- in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), was one of 29 people killed on June 2, 1994 when their RAF Chinook helicopter crashed in foggy conditions over the Mull of Kintyre in the remote west of Scotland.

Susan, who is from Peterborough, can still remember driving Ian to RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland on that fateful day and his excitement at riding in the Chinook, a reminder of his previous years as a paratrooper.

placeholder image — Susan and her husband Ian.

Tragically though, Ian, along with 24 other passengers- made up or personnel from MI5, the RUC and the Army- as well four crew members from RAF Aldergrove never made it to the their destination of Fort George, close to Inverness and lost their lives.

Also among those who perished were MI5 agent Martin Dalton (37), from Peterborough, and Major Christopher Dockerty (33), a former pupil of Wisbech Grammar School.

Susan recalls: “It felt like I lost my whole life that day. On that day, in my diary I write ‘the day my life ended’ and that is exactly what it felt like.

"Ian was the love of my life, we were soulmates. If I could wish for everyone to find a loving soulmate like Ian then I would. I am very grateful I had 28 years with him but even so, it would have been nice for him to see his children and grandchildren grow up.

"It seems rather odd that he was excited but of course if he had known that the Chinook was not airworthy then he would never have got on it.”

Little did Susan know is that what would follow that day would be a 31-year battle for the truth which continues to this day.

After the crash, the two pilots Flight Lieutenants Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook were blamed for gross negligence but the families of the victims spend almost two decades trying to clear the names of the pair, which resulted in a full apology the two being absolved of blame by Defence Secretary Liam Fox in 2011.

A subsequent review, led by Lord Philip, raised numerous concerns about the helicopters themselves, with the Boscombe Down test centre, at the time, declaring the Chinook as “unairworthy” just before its use.

The government now accepts that the conclusions previously reached were incorrect in blaming 'pilot error' but the true reasons behind the crash are still yet to be identified.

The families have now launched a fresh campaign for a Judicial Review into the government’s refusal to order a judge-led public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the crash, under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act which protects the right to life.

The families’ legal claims say that a subsequent Fatal Accident Inquiry and several parliamentary investigations have all been fatally flawed by limiting their access to vital information and evidence as to why the Chinook Mark 2 was grounded and not fit to fly.

The families are not prepared to rest though with much of the latest wave of momentum for the quest for justice coming from those who were just young children at the time of the crash and lost their fathers. It also follows on from the hard-hitting BBC documentary Chinook: Zulu Delta 576, which aired last year.

The documentary revealed that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has sealed the crash files for an unprecedented 100 years. Campaigners are calling for a public judge-led inquiry that would have full access to these materials which none of the previous inquiries have been able to consider.

The hope is now that the truth can finally be brought to light so many years on.

Susan, whose children were 21 and 26 at the time of the crash, added: “It is such a relief to now see so many people standing up for their dads. I have been campaigning from the beginning. I am so pleased that all of the young families, who were very small children at the time and lost their dads, have come onboard. The momentum and the emotion is amazing.

“We have been lacking the truth for so long. I have spoken to those who lost their fathers and the stories are heart breaking. It makes prickles go down your back, it’s horrific, I’ve spoken to people who were 8, 10, 13 at the time. They lost their dads, their lifestyle, their mentor and several of them said they lost their happiness so many years. The military families had to leave their homes within six months too.

"We have written so many letters asking for meetings and information and all we hear back is that there is no reason to do anymore as this was just a tragic accident and we are sorry for our loss. That is what we get from the government after 31 years on.

"The Phillip report found that the aircraft was not fit to fly but then more investigations should have been ordered. The lid has just been put on this. It is unbearable that there is sealed information that could give bereaved families what they are looking for but it is sealed for 100 years.”

The Mod has said that it has fully accepted the findings of the 2010, which found that the evidence did not make it possible to reach conclusions on potential technical causes for the crash and that it considers it highly unlikely that a further inquiry would identify any new evidence or reach new conclusions on the basis of existing evidence.

An MOD spokesperson said: “The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died.”