Had this accident, in which three people lost their lives, happened in England or Wales an independent inquiry (inquest) would have been mandatory, in addition to an ‘in house’ MoD Service Inquiry . In Scotland it was, at the time of the accident, left to the Lord Advocate's discretion. Based on the MoD report alone, the Lord Advocate decided not to call a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI). Had these been civilian deaths then the Lord Advocate would have been obliged to hold a mandatory FAI as they were work related and people died "in the course of their employment". However, according to the Lord Advocate and the Crown Office of Scotland military personnel are not employed, and therefore were not covered by the FAI Act.

Despite new evidence being submitted the Lord Advocate has stuck to his original decision not to hold an independent inquiry (FAI), and in doing so has ignored the main cause of the accident and deaths. That cause, which is a systemic defect in the system of working still remains and poses a threat to aircrew and the general public. In addition he has deprived all those involved their rights under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Over the past forty years not one FAI has been held for a military death in Scotland. The Mull of Kintyre FAI took place only because civilians were on board the helicopter.