Britain disputes U.S. report on copter crash

A British coroner contradicted the U.S. military Thursday on the cause of a deadly helicopter crash during the invasion of Iraq.

The eight British marines and four American crew members killed were the war’s first fatalities. They died when the U.S. Marine CH-46 helicopter crashed in Kuwait.

Washington has concluded that the crash was caused by the pilot becoming disoriented. But British coroner Andrew Walker ruled that it was a result of mechanical failure.

The helicopter was part of a U.S. airlift intended to move hundreds of British marines to secure Iraq’s Al Faw peninsula.

After the crash, U.S. commanders grounded helicopters assigned to the mission, saying the conditions were too poor for flying.

The British troops were forced to rely on a smaller helicopter task force of their own, delaying the arrival of some troops and leaving others with little protection deep in Iraqi territory. British pilots flew the mission without incident.