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<p>There was a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) carried out following the crash of a Chinook
in June 1994 on the Mull of Kintyre which concluded it was impossible to establish
the exact cause of the crash.</p><p> </p><p>Since the formation of the Ministry of
Defence (MOD) Inquest Unit (DIU) in 2008 there have been no FAIs. Before the formation
of the DIU, Inquests were dealt with by the individual Services (Army, Royal Navy
and Royal Air Force), the DIU does not have access to any records that may have been
retained from this period. It is, however, unlikely that these records have been retained
under the MOD records retention policy which is normally five years from date of opening.</p><p>
</p><p>We have held discussions with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscals Service
(COPFS), to determine if there any other FAIs have been held. COPFS have advised it
is not possible to confirm how many FAIs have taken place into military deaths in
Scotland since 1990. The COPFS database is based on individual specific information
i.e. name, date of birth, date of death and not on occupation. It is not searchable
on occupation and we are advised that any search would also return deaths of individuals
from natural causes, which could amount to many hundreds of records and would need
to be manually searched. This information could be provided only at disproportionate
cost.</p>
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