Silent Witness (1996) s11e01 Episode Script

Pilot.
Came down just inside our area.
Just wondering whether it could be pilot suicide.
Do we cope with the dead better than we cope with the living?! Just a piece I was asked to write.
Didn't mean to pry.
Why change the habit of a lifetime? They asked you They asked me to write it, yes.
I didn't somehow force it into the magazine, if that's No.
Have you ever written a piece for them? Three.
Right, well, you know how it all works.
No wonder you made this a mystery tour.
Come on, you'll love it.
I've got a friend who might be flying a display today.
Who's that? School friend.
Well, if you point him out He might be in Afghanistan.
That concludes presentation two of our e-seminar on advances in forensic pathology.
We have time for questions before the next presentation, from Professor Leo Dalton.
Yes? I have a question from Dr Robert Murray.
May I say how much I'm looking forward to Professor Dalton's presentation? He is an old friend.
My question is this - how can old academic warhorses like Professor Dalton and his team go on competing against the private sector in forensic pathology? Just a question.
For all of us.
I didn't know you were a petrolhead.
I'm not a petrolhead.
I like cars, but it takes afterburners to really turn me on.
Ah, so you're an airhead? I grew up wanting to fly.
Why didn't you? Peter Pan never met his Tinkerbell? I was diagnosed with atrial septal defect as a baby.
Never knew that.
Stuff she doesn't know - well, well! A heart murmur stopped you flying? Stopped me doing lots of things.
Started a few as well.
Made me very interested in hearts.
I'm flattered.
By what? You choosing to share your fantasies with me.
Your unfulfilled flying fantasies.
He was trying to make me look bad.
'He was trying to be provocative.
' You didn't brief him to stir things up, did you, Jean? Just a little controversy to add some spice? 'Absolutely not, Leo.
You were great.
'Don't let Robert Murray get to you.
Rise above it.
'We're really grateful for your contribution.
'You always raise the level and that's what gets to Murray.
' Yeah, well.
I was glad to take part.
'Thanks, Leo.
' Bye.
Do you have anything else wrong with you? No.
Did you ever have mumps? Shall I just fill in a questionnaire? Well, ask me a question then.
No, no.
HELICOPTER ROTORS WHIRR What the hell is that noise? WHIRRING GETS LOUDER I think he's in trouble.
HELICOPTER ROARS OVERHEAD ENGINE WHINES Get in the car! SCREAMING I'm about a mile north of the A345 junction with Ridmead Road.
A very large helicopter has come down.
Stay on the line.
Are you OK? My name is Dr Harry Cunningham.
I was just passing I think this is a major, major incident.
Yeah, come quickly.
It'sthere's a lot of smoke.
I'll get closer and try to tell you what's going on.
Wait a second.
Casualties Is there anyone here? Double figures.
Multiple.
Hazards from aviation fuel, multiple.
Lots of burns, I would imagine Fuel It's all right, I fell over.
INAUDIBLE OVER ROARING FIRE Harry! SCREAMING AND WAILING Go, go, the ambulances are coming, go.
FEEBLE SHOUT Harry! Hello? Harry! I'm Harry, what'swhat's your name? Stay with me.
Stay with me.
Stay with me.
Stay with me! Survivor! It's not myfault.
It's not your fault.
It's not your fault.
Help is coming.
Andrew, stay with me.
No, no, no! SIRENS WAIL I'm Dr Alexander.
We were on the road there.
There are body parts everywhere.
How close were you? It came right over us.
Did you see or hear an explosion, pre-impact? Not pre-impact.
Yankee Delta Control to Yankee Delta One.
Over.
Confirm air crash at Ridmead.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
Help! OK Harry! Vasha! My friend, Vasha.
Vasha! Vasha! Are you all right? Vasha! Give me a description of her! A description! Vasha! Vasha! Harry! Sierra Oscar So what's the story? He's in the fire.
Who are you? I want you to come away from here.
The pilot's dead.
Get him away from here.
I need to talk to you.
I'm Dr Cunningham.
I'm a pathologist.
Sir, we need you over here.
Miss? I've lost someone.
Sorry, I'm a pathologist.
You're probably not going to be wanted for a while.
We called it in.
Our control's going in that building up there.
You might want to base yourself nearby.
Excuse me? These people living here.
Who are they? Detainees.
Asylum failures.
What'll happen to them? They'll be got off the site any time.
Harry? Hey! Hey! Please I can't, I'm sorry, I can't.
You'll stay in there.
THEY PLEAD IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE Sorry, guys PHONE VIBRATING Fold, sorry.
What's up? Leo, turn the TV news on.
Wait a second, will you? TV: .
.
has crashed at the Ridmead Detention Centre outside London.
Where are you? I'm there, Leo, with Nikki.
Have you been paged? I haven't been paged.
Where is this? 'Outside London.
' Is it on our patch? I haven't been called.
PAGER BEEPS Wait a second.
Er, I have to phone the Home Office.
'They've arrested me.
' What did you just say? They've arrested me.
Ha TV: Representatives from the MoD and RAF are currently on site No, it's impossible to make anyone out in all this smoke.
Dr Murray.
Dr Nikki Alexander, pathologist.
You're a pathologist? Yeah.
I'm from the Pathology Partnership Practice.
Who sent for you? Sir Sorry.
OK.
This site is sealed, sir.
Take me to whoever's in charge, will you? MoD's in charge, sir.
All right.
Take me to the MoD.
Leo Dalton, pathologist.
Home Office.
I'm Colvin, MoD.
APM Renshaw, RAF.
This is Ministry of Defence property.
I understand the site is leased to the Home Office.
I also understand that my team are already here, can I see them, please? Dr Harry Cunningham, Dr Nikki Alexander, where are they? Help me! Help! Leo, thank Christ! Are you detaining one of my team? Pending your arrival.
I don't understand.
He was found on the flight deck.
The site had been cleared once.
I was looking at the flight The site is restricted for security reasons.
Absolutely no need for this bollocks! Harry, what have you landed us in? What, another joke? Do you drive around at weekends looking for things to happen? What were you doing on the flight deck? Where's Nikki? What were you both doing there anyway? We were on a picnic.
Pathologist.
Who's your bronze commander? There's a pathologist here already.
What? Dr Murray.
Professor Dalton.
What brings you all the way out here? He must be on call for the local coroner.
I'm not going to work with that man.
You know him? Oh, yes, I know him.
I'm looking for the coroner.
You've found her - Patricia Darlow.
Leo Dalton, pathologist.
Dr Murray is I was called by the Home Office.
It's their facility.
I have a pathologist.
We're here to help.
Oh, OK, I understand that your mortuary's full.
We'll set up a temporary one.
Nobody likes that in this situation.
I have facilities.
This is my site.
We can bring the bodies up to London.
Into another coroner's jurisdiction? This is a major incident.
We have to stay flexible.
The rules are very tight.
We can't tie up the public mortuaries.
Have you asked the police what they prefer? We can cope! Where are you going to get a forensic anthropologist from? Are you a forensic anthropologist? No, I'm not, but she is.
Can we speak? Yes, of course.
Where the hell have you been? He was detained.
Do you know how many bodies are out there, roughly? Um, 20-something.
The inmates were pushing these at me.
They've been cleared, none too nicely.
But they're only asylum seekers.
Asylum refusals awaiting removal.
This is some kind of a secure holding centre.
Once you've ascertained that the survivors are OK, then I become the senior medical officer on site.
If the RAF claim the wreck site as theirs, I don't want to get into a fight.
The air accident people will be here soon and we all have to work together.
Harry What? Can't I go outside? Can we just stay together? Where were you? I looked everywhere.
I was on the flight deck.
I found the pilot.
He said it wasn't his fault.
He survived? No.
He knew my name.
How? No idea.
Are you all right? Dr Murray, as far as he's concerned, has said we can have the site.
Words to that effect.
The coroner's put us in charge.
We start as soon as the sun's up.
We've got four hours before we can start identification.
Try and get some sleep.
I'm not tired.
Lie down.
You'll be surprised how tired you are.
Did you sleep? Couldn't.
He wasn't trying to land.
He'd have been vertical if he was.
He was in a dive.
Must have been something wrong with the helicopter.
Maybe he saw a runway.
Helicopters don't Don't need runways.
But you need to be clear of overhead power and he'd need a hard piece of ground, right? Yeah.
Where's Leo? Did you get any sleep? Some, thanks.
Did you not have your phone on last night, Harry? I called you twice.
Better get changed.
Did you see how these people were living? I know.
The camp was officially segregated.
It seems they were meeting outside for sex.
Security may have found that was the only way to manage the place.
Female, 19? No, not seen her.
Rotor damage.
Blade fragment severed the spinal column.
Quick, anyway.
AAIB? That's me.
Leo Dalton.
Almost finished our plot.
Consistent with rotor damage along three tracks.
There, there and there.
This is Dr Nikki Alexander.
John Sayer.
Air Accident Investigation Branch.
How soon will you move the wreckage? Why? There could be victims underneath it.
Of course.
Er, we'll let you know.
Why exactly did they detain Harry last night? Um, I don't know.
I was told that they found him in the remains of the flight deck.
He wouldn't move.
We were doing a survive check.
We'd split up so I didn't see.
Have the police come back with the inmates' names yet? They'll need immigration for that.
Had to get them out of bed, I expect.
They should be here when they start lifting.
RADIO: .
.
from the accident last night when an RAF helicopter crashed at a site near Ridmead.
The site was apparently being used as a removal centre for failed asylum seekers.
A Home Office spokesman has yet to confirm the number of detainees at the camp - a former RAF base.
The RAF insists they are dealing with an accident involving one of their aircraft, not a criminal event.
They say the aircraft was not attempting a landing at the base The AAIB needs a report, too.
Can we go first? We don't want them disturbing anything.
Sure.
There must be at least one other body.
Hold it! Not her? No, male.
Photograph, please.
Last one then.
Do you know if it was air crew? His clothing's burned away but it doesn't look like it.
What did you say? I asked if he was more air crew.
Why? We're not separating the bodies.
Yeah, I made an agreement.
The RAF are taking the air crew.
There were two pilots.
One pilot was killed instantly when he was thrown clear.
They're focusing on the other pilot.
The bodies are never separated on a site.
We bent the rules a little to take the victims into the coroner's jurisdiction.
We never do it! Calm down, will you? Why did you agree? The RAF are aviation medicine specialists.
If the system wasn't under strain, they'd handle all of this.
We will not get into a tug of war about this.
Harry What's the matter with him? We assume he's not air crew.
We take him.
Why were you both out here in the first place? It wasn't a date if that's what you're thinking.
Harry said something about a picnic.
Harry wanted to take me to an air show.
Did you know that he grew up wanting to be a pilot? It's a relief to know that he grew up.
No, I didn't know.
Leo You saw the way he walked off.
He might be in shock.
In which case, I'd have to get him off site.
He's a pathologist attending a major incident.
Why should he be in shock? Not everyone who attends a major incident watches it happen in front of them.
Well, you're not in shock.
I didn't find the pilot.
What happened with the pilot? I think Harry was with him when he died.
Ah! Keep an eye on him, will you? I'll see you later in the mortuary.
Yep.
You know where it is? Hey! Hey! Shit! You've got blood on your hair.
There.
Can you cut it out? Did you try and resuscitate the pilot? Yep.
Not too much.
It's starting, see? REPORTER: Minister! What's starting? She's going to say, "Pilot error.
" .
.
except to pay tribute to the rescue services, who've done a wonderful job.
It's too soon to say, but it looks like it might well be pilot error.
Minister No, that's all I have to say.
Is there a connection between this accident and one in Iraq? REPORTERS SHOUT QUESTIONS What's going on? That was a great dinner, by the way.
Thanks.
We were on our way to dinner last night? Oh, right, yeah.
Can you remember what we were doing? Yeah.
Are you OK to drive? Why wouldn't I be? RADIO: The camp was holding failed asylum seekers pending removal from the United Kingdom.
The helicopter was a new type which the RAF said had an excellent safety record.
How can a new type have an excellent safety record? It's an upgrade.
Same platform.
New avionics.
Leo Dalton, pathologist.
The coroner's officer? OK.
Take him down.
Follow me.
Thanks.
OK.
Why are we here again? We have to sign off the victims or they can't be moved.
Everyone's gone.
Leo Dalton.
Was the coroner here? They were all here, they've gone.
I'm the coroner's officer.
We've come from Ridmead.
I know.
We're here to sign your papers.
Mrs Darlow did explain to you.
In here, please.
We've used site, not mortuary numbers.
Understood.
This lot ran over a landmine.
Came in yesterday.
Harry! So this is a military mortuary? A military PM suite.
We're not allowed to use the hospital's facilities.
I'll need all your signatures.
I don't know how we'd have coped.
I'm glad to help.
Iraq? Afghanistan.
Can you give us a minute? Yeah, sure.
He said my name.
The pilot? I thought it was my friend.
Harry Did you say anything? I said Stay with me, stay, stay, come on.
I said, er I have a very close-knit team.
RADIO: .
.
no reasons to ground the helicopter, which is in active service with the RAF in Iraq and Afghanistan .
.
said that, while it was a tragic accident, it had indeed contributed to a bad week .
.
and that any terrorism could almost certainly be ruled out .
.
and whether there was any connection between the camp being a former RAF base Yeah, there was a wallet with my credit cards and maybe ã20 in cash.
Mmm-hmm, that's all.
The account number I gave you.
No, I don't think the PIN numbers were with the wallet.
OK.
Thanks.
What's happened to your wallet? Doesn't matter.
What were you looking at? Military air accidents involving helicopters.
The last time a British one of these went down, we had the same thing, the minister making statements about pilot error before anything could be established.
You can't have a conspiracy to cover up an aircraft accident.
It would involve too many people.
You're not a secret conspiracy theorist You don't need to be to stuff responsibility for things they get wrong down the chain of command onto the shoulders of people who cannot answer back, especially if they are dead.
Like this pilot.
You call that politics? Call it what you like, it doesn't matter.
So you're back to whether we treat the dead worse than the living.
Harry? I'm busy, Leo.
Harry! Let it go, Harry.
You have a job to do.
For Christ's sake, get off my back! The dead have rights, Leo, and as you've observed, they're connected to us in a great number of ways.
TV: The bodies of four British soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan were returned to the UK yesterday.
Lieutenants Michael Ashford and Brendan Lee and Sergeants Geoffrey Kilroy and Anthony Bride were killed when their Land Rover was hit by an IED, an improvised explosive device.
It is one of the most deadly terrorist weapons being used against coalition forces.
PHONE RINGS The question of whether the army has the right equipment to deal with the threat they face Hello? I thought you might be overseas.
Listen, I really need to see you, today if possible.
Yeah? Hold on.
OK, yeah, I know it.
OK, I'll see you then.
Harry Cunningham! Simon Kilbert! Your hair looks shorter.
You just look terrible.
A board of enquiries convene at the first possible moment after an accident, often the same day.
They'll be calling you if you're an eyewitness.
They already have.
Is it an exclusively RAF enquiry? The RAF handles its own investigations.
They make a recommended finding to high command, who can overrule it.
Wasn't there a stink about a recent finding? Yeah, and they're not allowed to bring in verdicts of gross negligence against dead air crew anymore.
There was a minister on site talking about pilot error.
How could she know that? She couldn't.
So, why say it? The RAF has to send a signal to any squadron operating the aircraft within hours of an accident in case they need to ground the type.
So, she was told to blame the pilot so they don't have to ground planes in theatre? Simon? I'm not a politician, so I can only assume.
They'd have to stop or curtail troop movements in combat zones.
Pilot error is what they say whenever there's no evidence for anything else.
Mechanical failure, et cetera.
It doesn't necessarily mean the pilot made a mistake, it just excludes mechanics, navigation and hostile action.
Did you know Flight Lieutenant Malcolm? I flew with him.
He was a friend, great guy.
Loved sailing.
Said he had to choose between a wife and a boat, and he was sticking with the boat for the time being.
And a good pilot? Yeah, one of the best.
Bear in mind he was authorised to fly air displays.
What was he like? Meticulous, but he was the squadron expert on electronic warfare.
He flew by the book.
Unless it was a special forces job, then he flew by the seat of his pants, brilliantly.
And you did that with him? Many times.
Listen, Harry, even the best pilots make mistakes.
You don't believe that Andrew flew into level ground on routine transit back to base from an air show? I don't know what he did, but we sign up and we take the risks.
When things go wrong, we end up with the responsibility, not the people flying desks.
And we live with that.
Some of us'll end up dead, and we live with that, too.
Pilots don't complain, even dead ones.
So I'll undermine the armed services by trying to protect Malcolm's reputation? We don't ask to be singled out.
How will you protect his reputation, Harry? Do you know what caused him to go in? When I heard a politician saying what she said without any investigation It pissed you off.
You could say.
I admire the work you do just as much as I think you admire the work I do, but neither of us works magic, Harry.
No-one expects us to.
I thought it was you when I found him.