Inquiry hears last message of Chinook

A mystery final message to air-traffic controllers from the Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter which crashed into the Mull of Kintyre was yesterday played to a hushed inquiry into the tragedy.

Lasting only one or two seconds it was of an unidentified member of the Chinook crew saying: "Scottish military. Good afternoon. This is Foxtrot Four Juliet Four Zero." The inquiry at Paisley, Strathclyde, has been told that Prestwick air-traffic control centre did not respond to the message, sent less than five minutes before the helicopter crashed on 2 June 1994 with the loss of 29 lives, including top Ulster police and military intelligence experts.