THE families of the 29 military and intelligence personnel who died in the 1994 Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash have said that they “expect answers” ahead of a historic first meeting with ministers tomorrow.

While flying from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to Fort George near Inverness, the helicopter hit a hillside in foggy conditions on the Kintyre peninsula on June 2 1994, killing all on board.

Pilot error was initially blamed, but that finding was overturned in 2011. Since then, no other explanation has been offered, with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) sealing documents relating to the crash until the year 2094 and resisting calls from bereaved families for a fresh inquiry.

More than 30 years on from the tragedy, the Chinook Justice Campaign’s petition for a new judge-led inquiry with access to the sealed documents has garnered over 51,000 signatures and won them a meeting with ministers.

Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting, families have published 225 new questions about the crash, adding to the 110 already tabled, including why an “unairworthy” aircraft was chosen and why “key technical documents” were withheld from earlier inquiries.

Former MoD aeronautical engineer David Hill, a technical adviser to the Chinook Justice Campaign, said the questions demonstrated that “the MoD has never provided full transparency,” adding: “The suggestion that no new facts will be uncovered is a deliberate misrepresentation to cover up past wrongdoing.”

Andy Tobias, who was eight when he lost his father, Lieutenant Colonel John Tobias, in the crash, said: “We have already built up an unsavoury treasure trove of MoD documents, test pilot warnings and evidence withheld from earlier investigations which prove my father and 28 others were put on an aircraft the MoD knew to be unairworthy.

“This is not my opinion. These are facts the Ministry of Defence either ignored, buried or refused to disclose. We have been forced to fight for the truth for 31 years. Now we expect answers.”

An MoD spokesperson said: “The accident has already been the subject of six inquiries and investigations, including an independent judge-led review.

“Lord Coaker, Minister of State for Defence, Al Carns, Minister for the Armed Forces, and Louise Sandher-Jones MP, Minister for Veterans and People, will be meeting with representatives from the Chinook Justice Campaign before the end of the year to listen to their concerns first-hand.”