Army cadet death findings published
The findings of an inquiry into the death of a teenage Army cadet in a boating exercise are due to be published.
Kaylee McIntosh, 14, died after she was pinned under a boat in Loch Carnan, South Uist, in the Outer Hebrides.
Kaylee, from Fyvie in Aberdeenshire, was one of 34 cadets taking part in the three-boat exercise on August 3 2007.
A rescue was launched after the boat carrying the schoolgirl capsized in choppy waters. But an error in the head count by organisers meant she was trapped under the boat for 90 minutes before anyone noticed she was missing.
An investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch found that Kaylee had been given a lifejacket not approved for children, which kept her pinned under the boat.
A fatal accident inquiry was held over two separate weeks last year before Sheriff Alasdair MacFadyen. The inquiry, which was held first in Inverness and then in Stornoway Sheriff Court, heard of a catalogue of failures on the day of the exercise.
Major George McCallum, who was in charge of the exercise, admitted he was not prepared for the possibility of a capsize, and that the planning was "exceptionally bad".
He told the court he had nominated himself as safety adviser but realised in retrospect he should have appointed someone else. Mr McCallum took "total responsibility" for the exercise.
Local coastguards also told how they had not been informed in advance of the exercise, and when they received the emergency call were given the wrong location, delaying their response.
Problems were also identified with the boat itself, a Rigid Raiding Craft power boat. Experts said the weight of a machine gun on the boat was weighing it down, allowing spray to get inside, and that water was not being released when it should have been.
