Army officer was hit and killed by a reversing tank during a combat drill due to 'flawed' and 'unsafe' safety procedures in the military, coroner rules

A 'star' British Army officer was hit and killed by a reversing tank during a combat drill due to 'flawed' and 'unsafe' safety procedures in the military, a coroner ruled today.'Utterly exceptional' Second Lieutenant Max George was crushed by a reversing Warrior FV511, moments after he exited the tank's rear.A court heard the officer exited the armoured vehicle while it was stationary, but the tank's driver and its commander did not realise he was still at the rear of the vehicle.A coroner was told Second Lieutenant George was trying to take his weapon from inside while holding open its 143kg (22st 7lb) back door.Due to a series of faults in the tank's safety systems, its operators had no way of knowing the back door was still open, with Second Lieutenant George in a blind spot.The Warrior quickly reversed at speed during the combat drill on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, and the 26-year-old – who had 'enormous' potential – was killed.Coroner Ian Singleton today criticised Army safety failings for creating an 'unsafe' environment, following an inquest into the soldier's death at Salisbury Coroner's Court.He said: 'I find that there were contributing factors in his death. The use of a command variant tank for debussing, which was not its intended purpose.'Safety features had not been operable for some time, and though they had been reported they had not been repaired.'There was no maintenance system in place to repair these systems.'The student commander was not properly trained in the use of the vehicle.'The training of the student commander was flawed to the extent of the debussing practice on the Warrior and that it was unsafe to do so in that variant.'There was also a need for additional control measures that weren't provided.'The coroner said he would be issuing a prevention of future deaths report. Second Lieutenant Max George, 26, was killed when a Warrior infantry fighting vehicle reversed over him at speed on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, a court heard The court heard Second Lieutenant George was still at the rear of the Warrior and was reaching for his weapon when he was 'knocked to the ground and then run over'The inquest had heard that the officer was a former head pupil and boating captain of the prestigious Durham School where his parents taught.After winning academic prizes there, he studied Politics with Russian at Newcastle University where he was awarded a First and then obtained a Distinction in his Masters in Eastern European and Eurasian Studies with Russian at the University of Glasgow.Second Lieutenant George had been an Army reservist from his third year of his undergraduate degree, but decided to join the regular Army after completing his masters, where he was seen as having 'enormous potential'.The officer had won the Queen's Medal - awarded to best cadet - when he passed out from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in December 2021.He was made 30th platoon commander of the Fifth Battalion for The Rifles, before being asked to act as a platoon commander in a roleplay exercise for trainee tank commanders on June 14, 2022.The unit was eight days into an extended exercise on Salisbury Plain when Second Lieutenant George was killed on June 21 2022.The vehicle had nine known faults at the time, including an alarm system that would have notified the driver if he had attempted to reverse while the door was open being non-functional.However these faults were not given priority and the vehicle had been incorrectly cleared for use during the exercise.An investigation after the incident found 24 'severe' faults which should have prevented the tank from being used, though none are thought to have contributed to Second Lieutenant George's death.The student commander in charge of the vehicle was also unfamiliar with the FV511 variant of the vehicle, which was not intended to be used for debussing troops and lacked many of the safety features for such a practice.A lack of proper equipment meant the Army improvised by clearing the vehicle for use when it was not proper to do so.The inquest previously heard from Lieutenant Colonel Graham Watson, who was appointed to investigate the incident and told the court: 'There was a deficiency in training which, combined with the non-functioning alarm, which was retrofitted to avoid such incidents, led to a heightened risk to life.'In our opinion, using FV511 as a platoon vehicle fell outside of the safe scope. Because it was not being used as intended, the safety risk was not practicable or tolerable and we found that as a contributing factor.'A safety case was issued in December 2019 and was valid at the time of the accident. That allowed it to be used as a platoon vehicle.'In our opinion the assertion that the safety risk was tolerable and as low as reasonably practicable was not correct.'The Ministry of Defence has since adopted the recommendations made by Lieutenant Colonel Watson's report into the incident. The officer's mother, Vivienne George, told the court her son was 'utterly professional' with 'effortless leadership qualities'Speaking at the start of the inquest, Second Lieutenant George's mother Vivienne read out a statement about her son.She said: 'He was loved by everyone he met and his reputation of being utterly professional, modest and great fun went before him to those who didn't know him but wanted to.'He was popular at school with students and staff alike. He never riled anyone and excelled in academia, sporting and social events.'He was a caring and utterly exceptional soldier who was often quietly fundraising for charities.'As a son and brother he was devoted and great fun.'We are struck by just how adored Max was by everyone. Several officers were at pains to point out how rare it is for a young officer to have gained such a reputation so early in their career.'He had effortless leadership qualities and truly was a star. His potential was enormous.'Max's soldiers so clearly adored him which is a testament to his fine character and natural flair.'