Coroner says flawed Army training contributed to officer’s death

A coroner has ruled that flawed Army training and a faulty alarm system contributed to the death of Second Lt Max George, who was struck by a reversing Warrior armoured vehicle during an exercise on Salisbury Plain in 2022.

George, 26, was beside the vehicle’s open rear door near Everleigh on 21 June when the exercise commander ordered it to reverse. An inquest at Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner’s Court heard that George was struggling with snagged equipment as he got out and died at the scene from multiple traumatic injuries.

Coroner Ian Singleton said the training of the student commander who gave the order had been flawed. He also found that the Warrior’s alarm, reported faulty in 2018, had not been repaired. The vehicle had no effective maintenance regime and was not routinely used to disembark troops.

Lt Col Graham Watson, who led the Army’s service inquiry, told the inquest that if the alarm had worked, it would have sounded while the rear doors were open and the driver would “almost certainly” have stopped. He said a noise as George exited may have led the commander to believe he was safely off the vehicle and the doors were shut.

The Ministry of Defence said it had already made several safety improvements and would respond to the points raised at the inquest. Warrior vehicles are no longer allowed to reverse with the rear door open, and visual checks are required before movement. The MOD said it was due to begin replacing the Warrior fleet from 2027.

Singleton said he would decide later whether to issue a prevention of future deaths notice. Victoria Neale, representing George’s family, said the inquest had given them “important answers” and “a degree of accountability”. She said the measures, if implemented and followed, could reduce the risk of a similar death.