Former Eastenders actor Ross Kemp's visit is a 'contributory factor' in Afghanistan helicopter crash

'This accident was caused by the disorientation of the HP when conducting a poorly executed transition downwind,' says Ministry of Defence board of inquiry

The Essex-born actor was in Afghanistan while filming a Sky One British documentary series about British soldiers fighting in the War in Afghanistan (Getty Images )

The concentration of the crew of a helicopter gunship which crashed in Afghanistan had been affected by a visit from former Eastenders actor Ross Kemp, an official Army report has suggested.

According to the report, the visit from the 51-year-old actor was a “contributory factor to the overall focus of the crew” in the accident almost eight years ago.

Kemp was one of several visitors to the £40million Apache AH1 helicopter in September 2008 while carrying out filming for TV series Ross Kemp in Afghanistan.

Both crew members, including the pilot, managed to escape the crash with minor injuries.

The accident resulted in the helicopter losing its tail and enduring serious damage to its rotor blades.

According to the Ministry of Defence board of inquiry, ”disorientation“ experienced by the pilot when ”he entered a dust cloud during a transition” served as a significant contributing factor to the crash.

The board added: ”In summary, it is clear to the board that this accident was caused by the disorientation of the HP when conducting a poorly executed transition downwind, with inadequate aircraft performance and engulfed in heavy recirculation.

“The board believes that the crew lacked sufficient experience for the complex, high end, unsupervised operation, had become fatigued and were distracted at a critical juncture.”

(PA)

Making a reference to the day Kemp visited, it continued: “Whilst not a distraction at the time of the accident the board believes it was a contributory factor to the overall focus of the crew.”

The Essex-born actor was in Afghanistan while filming a Sky One British documentary series about British soldiers fighting in the War in Afghanistan. The two-part series involved Kemp and a small film crew shadowing troops fighting in Helmand Province.

An MoD spokesperson said following the release of the report: “Our highly skilled pilots are trained to deal with all kinds of emergency situations and incidents like this are extremely rare.

“To suggest that this was caused by the filming of a documentary would be disingenuous.”

Additional reporting by Press Association.