29/01/2014 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

Good evening. Pointless and avoidable. The words Flight

Lieutenant Sean Cunningham's parents have used to describe his death.

Today saw the end of a three`week inquest into how the Red Arrow's

pilot died when his ejection seat went off at RAF Scampton in 2011.

Today the coroner said Sean Cunningham's death was preventable,

criticising the company which made the ejection seat and the Ministry

of Defence. Caroline Bilton has this report.

It was a job he loved but it ultimately cost him his life. Flight

Lieutenant Sean Cunningham died after his ejection seat went off

during routine checks on the ground at RAF Scampton in 2011. At the

inquest into his death, it was revealed the accident could have

been prevented. His family have been coming here every day for three

weeks to get the answers they've been searching for for two years.

That wait clearly had taken its toll when it came to giving their

reaction today. Sean was blameless and his tragic

death, excuse me. His tragic death was preventable. We

still find it difficult to accept so many people could have missed what

should have been obvious to those having a duty to ensure the safety

of the seat. The inquest heard of concerns over

pressured timetables, a dilution of experience within the engineers and

severe staff shortages. Problems with the ejection seat

where the safety pin could be inserted into the handle without it

being safe were known but not communicated.

The handle had been left in an unsafe position for four days before

the accident and was seen on 19 different occasions but it went

unnoticed. Sean's parachute did not deploy

because a crucial nut and bolt had been over tightened.

Had his parachute worked, he would still be alive.

The over tightening of that nut and bolt and its potential to put life

at risk was known 20 years ago by the ejection seat manufacturers,

Martin Baker. Other foreign forces were informed but not the RAF.

In relation to the 19 missed opportunities to notice the seat

firing handle was unsafe the coroner, Stuart Fisher, said the RAF

did as an organisation have a level of appreciation some years prior to

2011 of this aspect of the seat's design. They failed to take

sufficient steps to bring that to the attention of the air or ground

crew. The RAF's failure in this regard meant that the lives of

numerous personnel were put at risk. We have made and will continue to

make every effort to make sure such a tragic accident could never happen

again. With regard to this nut and bolt and

Martin Baker's failure to notify the MoD of potential risks of over

tightening, Stuart Fisher said there was a very serious failure of

communication in my view by Martin Baker. It seems to me there is no

logic to warn and inform some but not others.

At RAF Scampton today the Red Arrows' training session was given

in Sean's honour, his family watching from the ground. Business

has resumed here, Sean's family hope lessons learned from their son's

death will mean these men and women are safer in the future.

Caroline is at RAF Scampton now. Have improvements been made since

Sean Cunningham's death? The coroner said at the start of

this inquest no stone would be left unturned and I have to say all

parties have been scrutinised in this case. Martin Baker didn't

respond in a statement today to the coroner 's criticism of the failure

to communicate and the coroner said he will writing to the company about

this issue. They have however redesigned that nut and bolt and the

firing handle and I'm told they will be fitted and operational by the end

of the year. The coroner is also going to write to the RAF and says

he is not satisfied over the safety of that seat firing handle and the

HSE are still investigating this case. There could still be a

prosecution. Almost ?15 million of government

money has been secured for a new energy park in North Lincolnshire.

The Humber Local Enterprise Partnership was one of 12 areas to

get the money. Last month ministers gave Able UK permission for a giant

business park for energy companies on the south bank of the Humber. It

will employ 4,000 people. 15 million is going to help

kick`start with 350 construction jobs, looking at the energy supply,

creating a quarter of a million square metres of commercial space

there, helping with infrastructure, roads, really getting the project

going. Health experts from East Yorkshire

say they would welcome a ban on smoking in cars where children are

present. The House of Lords tonight voted in favour of a ban despite

claims from some peers that the law would be unenforceable. Anti`smoking

campaigners say many drivers are unaware of the risks.

I think most people know about the dangers of passive smoking. A lot of

people do not tend to smoke in the house much anymore. We seem to have

got that message through. It is even more concentrated in the car because

of it being a small space. It's been announced that the Queen's

baton event will come to Hull ahead of this summer's Commonwealth Games

in Glasgow. The Olympic Torch relay was a huge success travelling

through East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in 2012 and it's hoped

the Queen's baton event will be able to recreate some of that magic.

There will be various events which are celebrating sport. We're really

trying to get people to come to those events, come together, young

people, families and celebrate the fact that sport is an important part

of our country still. Time now for the weather with Paul

Hudson. Hello, again, the dreary weather continues tomorrow, another

cloudy day with patchy outbreaks of rain to come. At the moment there is

a lot of cloud, a few spots of drizzle. There will be a few

drifting in from the North Sea. Just a chance of a little bit of sleet

perhaps over the Wolds. A risk of icy patches, mainly over the routes

across the top of the Wolds. Tomorrow, a cloudy day with some

patchy outbreaks of rain. A bit of wintriness over the tops of the

Wolds but it won't amount to anything at all. We might even get

longer outbreaks of rain developing through the course of the day.

Temperatures coming in at four or five Celsius. Friday, a dry start

and heavy rain and strong winds by the end of the day. Just a reminder

Newsnight is starting now on BBC Two with Jeremy Paxman looking into a

row about a cartoon that's angered Christians and Muslims. . From all

of us here, have a good night. Hello. The next dose of wet and

windy weather is due to arrive on Friday from the Atlantic. Today we

have had an easterly wind bringing the chill as the threat of icy

patches comes to the north where the cloud breaks. More cloud further

south. Maybe some sleet and snow in parts of East Wales as we engage the

cold air. Temperatures in the south-east are not changing much

because the rain keeps going. It will be colder further north,

though. Icy patches are possible. More wintry showers in the

north-east. Quite a few flood warnings in Tayside. Write to the

west of the