The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Army ‘deeply regrets’ death of soldier in live-firing exercise
Black watch: Eight ‘contributory factors’ identified in private’s death
The army said it “deeply regrets” the death of a young soldier who was shot during a live-firing exercise, following publication of an official report.
Private Conor Mcpherson, 24, from The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland, died after suffering a head wound at the Otterburn Training Area in Northumberland at around 11pm on Monday August 22 last year.
A probe into the incident identified eight “contributory factors” that made the accident more likely to happen that night, including lack of effective supervision of the soldier who fired the shot.
It issued a series of recommendations aimed at reducing the likelihood of a similar accident reoccurring, which the army is said to be considering carefully.
Army spokesman Colonel Jim Taylor said: “The army deeply regrets the death of Private Conor Mcpherson. What happened that night in Otterburn on August 22 2016 was a terrible, terrible tragedy.”
A Ministry of Defence service inquiry into the death was carried out by the Defence Safety Authority.
The investigating panel said it is highly likely a solder named only as “firer 2”, a private who had been in the military for more than five years, misidentified Pte Mcpherson as a target and fired the fatal round. This was identified as the “causal factor” in the death.
Referring to the hour leading up to the incident, the report noted: “Due to the limited light levels and lack of experience of firing at night, the firers kept falling over and struggled to identify the targets. Some firers were surprised as they had expected illumination to aid in the identification of the targets.”
The panel also highlighted the lack of a walk-through of the range, “inexperience” of safety supervisors during the night exercise and some soldiers’ lack of experience of night firing without illumination.
It set out 13 other factors which, whilst they played no part in the accident in question, are noteworthy in that they could contribute to a future accident.