British Army sniper killed by US fighter jet 'after pilot attacked wrong site by mistake after failing to enter co-ordinates into his on-board computer'

Forces on ground called in air support after being attacked by insurgents

F18 pilot had trouble identifying landmarks and did not enter coordinates



Private John Howard, 23, was hit as he took cover in a ditch in Afghanistan

Force had been sent to Nad-e Ali district to target 'compounds of interest'

Coroner recorded narrative verdict and said 'communications issues' contributed to his death



A British Army sniper was fatally shot by a US fighter jet in Afghanistan after a mistake by the pilot meant he attacked the wrong site, an inquest heard today.

Forces on the ground had called in air support after being attacked by insurgents in Helmand province.



However, as well as having difficulty identifying landmarks when speaking to ground troops, the F18 pilot failed to enter coordinates for the strike.

Fatally shot: New Zealand born Private John Howard, 23, was hit as he took cover in a ditch and died instantly

As the pilot swooped to attack, Private John Howard, 23, was hit as he took cover in a ditch and died instantly, the inquest in Salisbury, Wiltshire, was told.



New Zealand-born Private Howard, known as Jack, was serving with 16 Air Assault Brigade’s Reconnaissance Force when he was killed.

The force had been sent to the Nad-e Ali district of Afghanistan to target ‘compounds of interest’ which could be linked to insurgent activity.

But on the day of the soldier’s death the weather deteriorated and three groups were sent from their base to hold a reassurance meeting with local elders, rather than carry out manoeuvres.



As this took place at around 12pm on December 5, 2010, one of the platoons came under fire and attempts were made to perform a pincer movement and repel the attackers.

Major Frank Reeves told the inquest: ‘Two platoon couldn’t move from their position because they were pinned down and we were trying to do a manoeuvre to relieve some of that.’



As the battle continued, the insurgents were forced back to an area identified as compound 15, about 100 metres (328ft) from another building where the British forces had made their way to.

Background: The force had been despatched to the Nad-e Ali district of Afghanistan to target 'compounds of interest' which could be linked to insurgent activity. A file photo of Royal Marines in the area is pictured

They received intelligence from an unmanned aircraft that insurgents were in compound 15 and agreed to call in air support.

Major Reeves said: ‘A strafing run was suggested and I was immediately very happy with that.’

An American F18 which had been circling the area was called in to carry out the attack, but a fault meant the pilot could not share his map with the ground commander, making it harder to be sure they were looking at the same point.

Commander Paul Tremelling told the inquest this would not necessarily have been a problem had the pilot and ground commander established clear markers on the ground so they both knew what they were talking about, which they did not.

However Commander Tremelling said the biggest mistake was the pilot’s failure to enter coordinates for the attack into his onboard computer.

‘You would always, always, always put that grid into the machine,’ he said, adding that he may not have done so because he thought his targeting pod was faulty.

‘In that situation what he should have done, had he thought there was an error in the equipment, it should have been the first thing he mentioned,’ said Commander Tremelling.

Commander Tremelling said it was not clear why the pilot did not realise friendly troops were within a danger zone of 60 metres from the intended target, as he should have seen them as he approached.

Plane: As well as having difficulty identifying landmarks when speaking to ground troops, the F18 pilot failed to enter coordinates for the strike. A file photo of an F18 aircraft is pictured

He said: ‘I don’t know why he didn’t say "by my reckoning friendlies are 40 metres away".’

Commander Tremelling said the pilot appeared to think the British troops were in a completely different compound because he and the ground commander were not talking about the same site.

He said: ‘They have formed a mistaken belief that they’re both looking at the same battle.’

On the ground, the troops took cover, with Private Howard and a few others in a ditch near the compound that the rest of the group were in.



Major Reeves said: ‘We were quite buoyed because we knew we were taking it to the enemy at this stage. We were almost looking forward to getting amongst it.’

'They have formed a mistaken belief that they’re both looking at the same battle' Commander Paul Tremelling

At that point the jet fired 205 rounds into the area, hitting the compound the British troops were in and the ditch. Major Reeves said there was a lot of confusion, dust and burning as they took in the situation.

Outside, Lance Corporal James Appelt, a trained medic, was in the ditch with Private Howard. He said it was clear that the sniper died instantly.

‘I was desperate to do something but I knew I could not do anything for him,’ Lance Corporal Appelt said in evidence.

In the air, the pilot, who was described as ‘very experienced’, realised a horrible mistake had been made.

Commander Tremelling said at this point the pilot entered the coordinates and the targeting device instantly focused on the compound where the insurgents were thought to be.

There was no further fighting and Private Howard’s body was removed from the scene, with two other injured troops also evacuated.



Coroner David Ridley recorded a narrative verdict into the death of Private Howard. Mr Ridley said although the sharpshooter died as a result of being shot by the jet, communications issues contributed to his death.



The coroner described how the pilot indicated that he had identified insurgent forces in one of the compounds.



'We thought it was a very thorough investigation and it certainly answered all our questions and we are grateful that the coroner devoted time to getting to the bottom of what happened' Roger Howard, father of Private John Howard

Mr Ridley said: ‘Unbeknown to the pilot and those on the ground, the pilot had identified compound A [where British troops were].



‘The aircraft attacked at 13.41. However the compound under attack was not compound 15 but was the unmarked compound A.



‘Jack, who had been laying in the ditch just short of the compound along with his comrades, was struck and Jack was instantly killed by one of the rounds.’



Private Howard, who had been deployed in Helmand since September 2010, was officially declared dead at the field hospital at Camp Bastion at 2.57pm.



Mr Ridley said: ‘Whilst the cause of Jack's death was the 20mm round fired from the attacking jet plane, communication issues between the forward air controller and pilot directly contributed to the incident.’

The coroner said these included the pilot failing to put attack coordinates into the on-board computer, the lack of video downlink allowing the controller to see what the pilot was looking at and the failure to agree common correlation points so they knew they were talking about the same thing.



Mr Ridley offered his condolences to the soldier's family.

