AN INQUEST into the death of Northfleet paramedic Mark Darby in an air ambulance crash has recorded the verdict of accidental death.

Mr Darby, 37, was in the Kent Air Ambulance helicopter with Graham Budden, 40, and Tony Richardson, 47, when it struck overhead power cables near the village of Burnham, Kent killing all three instantly in July 1998.

The air ambulance was 80 per cent destroyed and the crew were so badly burned they had to be identified by their dental records.

West Kent coroner, Roger Hatch, directed the jury to return the verdict after a two-day inquest at County Hall in Maidstone last Friday.

He said: We have to conclude how the deaths occurred and verdicts of accidental death are the most obvious verdict.

A report by the Air Accident Investigations Board(AIIB) cleared former RAF pilot and father-of-two, Graham Budden of any blame saying he would have been unable to see the cables until too late because they were hidden by tree tops.

However the reason for the £2million Squirrel helicopter hitting the 11,000 volt cables remains a mystery.

The report concluded there were six possible reasons for the fatal collision - including technical malfunctions or deliberate low flying but that there was not enough evidence to know exactly what happened.

At the inquest one witness recalled seeing the helicopter flying low and fast and with black smoke coming from its exhaust.

Another passer-by said he smelled hot oil as the helicopter took off to return to Rochester airport, Kent after attending a nearby road crash on the M2.

The AIIB report recommended all helicopters be fitted with black box flight recorders to make it easier to find the cause of accidents.

The Kent Air Ambulance Trust said: We hope the conclusion of the inquest offers some comfort to the friends and families of Graham, Mark and Tony and out thoughts remain with them at this time.