Kaylee McIntosh Tribute

A fatal accident inquiry into the death of a 14-year-old Aberdeenshire Army cadet during a training exercise in South Uist will reopen in Stornoway today.

Kaylee McIntosh, of Camaloun Road, Fyvie, died when she was pinned underneath the hull of a Rigid Raider craft 2 when it overturned in Loch Carnan on August 3 last year.

She was trapped for more than an hour before anyone noticed she was missing.

Key witness George McCallum, chief executive officer of the cadet force and the cox of Kaylee’s boat, is expected to give evidence this week. The inquiry, before Sheriff Alasdair MacFadyen, has already heard from cadets, instructors and rescuers involved in the search for Kaylee, who was one of 34 cadets from 2nd Battalion, the Highlands Army Cadet Force taking part in a summer camp.

Members of Kaylee’s family, including her parents Derek and Lesley, have attended each day of the inquiry.

During the first week of evidence, it was claimed there was no head count or roll call before the cadets went out on to the sea.

And there was confusion over a head count which took place after the incident when organisers failed to notice that Kaylee was missing.

The inquiry was also told the boat’s drivers did not have maps of the area and had not been well briefed on what the exercise entailed. No proper risk assessment was drawn up for the exercise. A machine gun mounted on the front of the boat was said to be a contributory factor to the capsize. On the last day of the inquiry in May, Sheriff MacFadyen viewed the Rigid Raider craft at Northern Constabulary’s headquarters in Inverness.

A report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has already found Kaylee was given the wrong kind of lifejacket. The MAIB said the boat was “ill prepared and ill equipped” for the voyage and was overcrowded.

It said Kaylee was wearing a jacket for use by assault troops carrying up to 100lbs (45kg) of equipment.

Mr and Mrs McIntosh recently marked the anniversary of their daughter’s death with a tribute poem.

The couple have previously called for criminal charges to be brought against those responsible for the “unbelievable catalogue of terrible mistakes” which led to their daughter’s death.