Pilot blamed for Nimrod display crash

Pilot error was blamed yesterday for the crash of an RAF Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft during a flying display in Canada, killing all seven crew instantly.

The official inquiry into the crash in September 1995 concluded that Flight Lieutenant Dom Gilbert, 31, altered a display manoeuvre causing the jet engines to stall. Tragically, the aircraft was too low to be able to restart its engines before it careered into Lake Ontario.

"The captain made an error of judgment in modifying one of the display manoeuvres to the extent that he stalled the aircraft at a height and attitude from which recovery was impossible," the inquiry report said.