Airman who flew same copter as William got cancer from fumes
AN RAF winchman who served in the same Sea King type of helicopter as Prince William has been given a payout from the Ministry of Defence after his rare cancer was linked to toxic fumes from the aircraft.
Flight Sergeant Zach Stubbings, 42, spent his 15-year RAF career inhaling them from the now-retired aircraft’s powerful twin engines.
After a six-year legal battle, the MoD has paid an undisclosed sum to Zach, who lives in Cardiff. There is no information on his health now.
The MoD admitted that the fumes caused his bone marrow cancer, known as multiple myeloma.
William also piloted the aircraft – which was first flown in 1969 – for three years while serving in the Search and Rescue Force at RAF Valley, Anglesey. The two men are not believed to have flown together but the revelation is likely to worry the royal family.
The Duke of Cambridge carried out 156 search and rescue operations – saving 149 people – before leaving in 2013.
The Sea King fleet was fully retired by 2018.
Defence chiefs confirmed that they had issued an alert to RAF and Navy personnel who had maintained the Sea King since it entered into service in 1969.
The Sea King has also been linked to asbestos poisoning after thousands of military engineers were feared to have inhaled the potentially fatal chemicals.
An MoD spokesman said: “The health and safety of our personnel is of the utmost importance and we are committed to providing a safe working environment.
“Three studies undertaken by the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine into Sea King found there were no definitive conclusions in terms of risk to health.”