SABOTAGE OR LOSS OF CONTROL?

An inquest jury at Bournemouth Crown Court was today continuing hearing about the deaths of Stephen Curtis, 45, and 34-year-old pilot Max Radford, who perished near Bournemouth Airport on March 3, 2004.

Mr Curtis was a solicitor specialising in international and company matters. His status as chief executive of Menatep - a company owned by Russian oil giant, Yukos - fuelled the conspiracy theories about the crash.

He owned a castle in Portland but was also a tax exile, obliged to spend no more than 90 days a year in the country, the inquest heard. He often went on overnight trips to establish he was not residing in Britain.

Mr Curtis had bought a plane and an Agusta 109E helicopter and hired Max Radford, boss of Bournemouth Airport-based Red Aviation, as his private helicopter pilot.

On the night of the crash, Mr Curtis had asked to be brought from Battersea heliport to Bournemouth, where his plane would take him for an overnight stay in Dublin.

Shortly after 7.30pm, the helicopter ran into trouble around a mile from Bournemouth's runway and crashed in a field. The wreck was consumed by flames and the bodies had to be identified through DNA.

East Dorset coroner, Sheriff Payne, told jurors: "Almost immediately after they came to light, conspiracy theories arose, particularly because of Mr Curtis's activities, his Russian links and so on, and there are all the ingredients there of an espionage thriller."

But he said the Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) had concluded that Mr Radford became "disorientated" in rainy weather and lost control of the helicopter.

Mr Radford's father Dennis said Max was an experienced pilot. He had been an "eye in the sky" chopper for a Los Angeles radio station and flown in snowstorms in Aspen, Colorado.

He said the AAIB had not properly investigated the possibility of sabotage.

"The lack of security at Bournemouth Airport is such that had anybody wished to sabotage the aircraft, they would have had unchallenged and unrestricted access for that purpose," he said.

"I do not know whether the helicopter was sabotaged and clearly do not have the means or resources of carrying out an investigation into the possibility."

He added: "Security was non-exsistent."

Eric Jenkins, who described himself as a "close" uncle of Mr Curtis, said his nephew had suggested he was receiving threats.

"He said to me if anything happened in the next two weeks to him then it wouldn't be an accident," he said.

He also said Mr Curtis had been under surveillance, to the extent that he had once spoken to his pursuers and offered them a cup of tea.

But a statement from Roderick Davidson, company director and close friend of Mr Curtis, said: "At no time do I recall Stephen talking to me about any direct physical threat to him including threats on his life. I do believe if he had received any threats of this nature he would have told me of them."

Lindsey Muirhead, operations manager with Red Aviation, said Mr Radford had raised the issue of airport security, and had also suggested Mr Curtis's phone calls were being tapped.

Nicola Harford-Bell, legal representative for the Radford family, suggested security was "lax". Miss Muirhead replied: "Yes."

Matthew Reeves, for the Curtis family, asked whether Mr Radford "would have felt under a moral pressure when faced with difficult weather conditions to stretch the limits of his flying ability in order to get Stephen to his destination".

Miss Muirhead replied: "Yes. It would depend on the aircraft he was flying. With the 109, the reason Stephen got it was to be able to fly at night in less than perfect weather."

She added: "He felt he was obliged to Stephen professionally and morally to get Stephen to his destination, having a well-equipped aircraft."

The inquest also heard from two flight instructors that they had been concerned about the level of Mr Radford's knowledge of the twin-engined Agusta 109E.

Alan Davis, of Alan Mann Helicopters, said Mr Radford had come in for training on the differences between the original 109 and its 109E successor.

Mr Davis said: "He was a likeable young man but I felt his confidence exceeded his competence.

"The purpose of the course he came in for was for me to explain the difference in the aircraft but it became apparent early on that his knowledge of the basic aircraft wasn't sufficient for me to be able to do that."

The inquest heard Mr Radford was not "instrument-rated" - meaning he was not deemed capable of flying by instruments alone without any visibility.

Fellow instructor Richard Poppy said he believed any pilot of a 109 should be instrument-rated, although it was not a legal requirement.

He was concerned about pilots without ideal experience being hired to fly complex aircraft belonging to private owners.

But he acknowledged Mr Radford - who had once flown for Sir Elton John - had been deemed competent to fly the Agusta after his training.

The inquest continues.

First published: November 1