:00:09. > :00:15.Good evening. Pointless and avoidable. The words Flight
:00:16. > :00:19.Lieutenant Sean Cunningham's parents have used to describe his death.
:00:20. > :00:23.Today saw the end of a three`week inquest into how the Red Arrow's
:00:24. > :00:28.pilot died when his ejection seat went off at RAF Scampton in 2011.
:00:29. > :00:31.Today the coroner said Sean Cunningham's death was preventable,
:00:32. > :00:36.criticising the company which made the ejection seat and the Ministry
:00:37. > :00:39.of Defence. Caroline Bilton has this report.
:00:40. > :00:44.It was a job he loved but it ultimately cost him his life. Flight
:00:45. > :00:47.Lieutenant Sean Cunningham died after his ejection seat went off
:00:48. > :00:54.during routine checks on the ground at RAF Scampton in 2011. At the
:00:55. > :00:58.inquest into his death, it was revealed the accident could have
:00:59. > :01:02.been prevented. His family have been coming here every day for three
:01:03. > :01:07.weeks to get the answers they've been searching for for two years.
:01:08. > :01:11.That wait clearly had taken its toll when it came to giving their
:01:12. > :01:13.reaction today. Sean was blameless and his tragic
:01:14. > :01:28.death, excuse me. His tragic death was preventable. We
:01:29. > :01:31.still find it difficult to accept so many people could have missed what
:01:32. > :01:36.should have been obvious to those having a duty to ensure the safety
:01:37. > :01:39.of the seat. The inquest heard of concerns over
:01:40. > :01:40.pressured timetables, a dilution of experience within the engineers and
:01:41. > :01:49.severe staff shortages. Problems with the ejection seat
:01:50. > :01:52.where the safety pin could be inserted into the handle without it
:01:53. > :01:57.being safe were known but not communicated.
:01:58. > :02:00.The handle had been left in an unsafe position for four days before
:02:01. > :02:04.the accident and was seen on 19 different occasions but it went
:02:05. > :02:07.unnoticed. Sean's parachute did not deploy
:02:08. > :02:11.because a crucial nut and bolt had been over tightened.
:02:12. > :02:15.Had his parachute worked, he would still be alive.
:02:16. > :02:19.The over tightening of that nut and bolt and its potential to put life
:02:20. > :02:24.at risk was known 20 years ago by the ejection seat manufacturers,
:02:25. > :02:29.Martin Baker. Other foreign forces were informed but not the RAF.
:02:30. > :02:31.In relation to the 19 missed opportunities to notice the seat
:02:32. > :02:35.firing handle was unsafe the coroner, Stuart Fisher, said the RAF
:02:36. > :02:38.did as an organisation have a level of appreciation some years prior to
:02:39. > :02:44.2011 of this aspect of the seat's design. They failed to take
:02:45. > :02:48.sufficient steps to bring that to the attention of the air or ground
:02:49. > :02:50.crew. The RAF's failure in this regard meant that the lives of
:02:51. > :02:58.numerous personnel were put at risk. We have made and will continue to
:02:59. > :03:01.make every effort to make sure such a tragic accident could never happen
:03:02. > :03:05.again. With regard to this nut and bolt and
:03:06. > :03:08.Martin Baker's failure to notify the MoD of potential risks of over
:03:09. > :03:11.tightening, Stuart Fisher said there was a very serious failure of
:03:12. > :03:20.communication in my view by Martin Baker. It seems to me there is no
:03:21. > :03:23.logic to warn and inform some but not others.
:03:24. > :03:26.At RAF Scampton today the Red Arrows' training session was given
:03:27. > :03:31.in Sean's honour, his family watching from the ground. Business
:03:32. > :03:34.has resumed here, Sean's family hope lessons learned from their son's
:03:35. > :03:40.death will mean these men and women are safer in the future.
:03:41. > :03:50.Caroline is at RAF Scampton now. Have improvements been made since
:03:51. > :03:54.Sean Cunningham's death? The coroner said at the start of
:03:55. > :03:57.this inquest no stone would be left unturned and I have to say all
:03:58. > :04:03.parties have been scrutinised in this case. Martin Baker didn't
:04:04. > :04:06.respond in a statement today to the coroner 's criticism of the failure
:04:07. > :04:12.to communicate and the coroner said he will writing to the company about
:04:13. > :04:16.this issue. They have however redesigned that nut and bolt and the
:04:17. > :04:23.firing handle and I'm told they will be fitted and operational by the end
:04:24. > :04:27.of the year. The coroner is also going to write to the RAF and says
:04:28. > :04:30.he is not satisfied over the safety of that seat firing handle and the
:04:31. > :04:38.HSE are still investigating this case. There could still be a
:04:39. > :04:43.prosecution. Almost ?15 million of government
:04:44. > :04:46.money has been secured for a new energy park in North Lincolnshire.
:04:47. > :04:50.The Humber Local Enterprise Partnership was one of 12 areas to
:04:51. > :04:53.get the money. Last month ministers gave Able UK permission for a giant
:04:54. > :05:00.business park for energy companies on the south bank of the Humber. It
:05:01. > :05:03.will employ 4,000 people. 15 million is going to help
:05:04. > :05:06.kick`start with 350 construction jobs, looking at the energy supply,
:05:07. > :05:09.creating a quarter of a million square metres of commercial space
:05:10. > :05:18.there, helping with infrastructure, roads, really getting the project
:05:19. > :05:22.going. Health experts from East Yorkshire
:05:23. > :05:25.say they would welcome a ban on smoking in cars where children are
:05:26. > :05:29.present. The House of Lords tonight voted in favour of a ban despite
:05:30. > :05:32.claims from some peers that the law would be unenforceable. Anti`smoking
:05:33. > :05:39.campaigners say many drivers are unaware of the risks.
:05:40. > :05:44.I think most people know about the dangers of passive smoking. A lot of
:05:45. > :05:48.people do not tend to smoke in the house much anymore. We seem to have
:05:49. > :05:52.got that message through. It is even more concentrated in the car because
:05:53. > :05:56.of it being a small space. It's been announced that the Queen's
:05:57. > :05:59.baton event will come to Hull ahead of this summer's Commonwealth Games
:06:00. > :06:02.in Glasgow. The Olympic Torch relay was a huge success travelling
:06:03. > :06:05.through East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in 2012 and it's hoped
:06:06. > :06:13.the Queen's baton event will be able to recreate some of that magic.
:06:14. > :06:18.There will be various events which are celebrating sport. We're really
:06:19. > :06:22.trying to get people to come to those events, come together, young
:06:23. > :06:32.people, families and celebrate the fact that sport is an important part
:06:33. > :06:39.of our country still. Time now for the weather with Paul
:06:40. > :06:42.Hudson. Hello, again, the dreary weather continues tomorrow, another
:06:43. > :06:46.cloudy day with patchy outbreaks of rain to come. At the moment there is
:06:47. > :06:50.a lot of cloud, a few spots of drizzle. There will be a few
:06:51. > :06:54.drifting in from the North Sea. Just a chance of a little bit of sleet
:06:55. > :06:57.perhaps over the Wolds. A risk of icy patches, mainly over the routes
:06:58. > :07:02.across the top of the Wolds. Tomorrow, a cloudy day with some
:07:03. > :07:05.patchy outbreaks of rain. A bit of wintriness over the tops of the
:07:06. > :07:08.Wolds but it won't amount to anything at all. We might even get
:07:09. > :07:12.longer outbreaks of rain developing through the course of the day.
:07:13. > :07:16.Temperatures coming in at four or five Celsius. Friday, a dry start
:07:17. > :07:25.and heavy rain and strong winds by the end of the day. Just a reminder
:07:26. > :07:28.Newsnight is starting now on BBC Two with Jeremy Paxman looking into a
:07:29. > :07:29.row about a cartoon that's angered Christians and Muslims. . From all
:07:30. > :07:42.of us here, have a good night. Hello. The next dose of wet and
:07:43. > :07:45.windy weather is due to arrive on Friday from the Atlantic. Today we
:07:46. > :07:50.have had an easterly wind bringing the chill as the threat of icy
:07:51. > :07:55.patches comes to the north where the cloud breaks. More cloud further
:07:56. > :08:00.south. Maybe some sleet and snow in parts of East Wales as we engage the
:08:01. > :08:03.cold air. Temperatures in the south-east are not changing much
:08:04. > :08:06.because the rain keeps going. It will be colder further north,
:08:07. > :08:11.though. Icy patches are possible. More wintry showers in the
:08:12. > :08:13.north-east. Quite a few flood warnings in Tayside. Write to the
:08:14. > :08:14.west of the