UK soldiers sue after falling 15,800 feet in military aircraft

Ten British soldiers have announced their intention to sue the Ministry of Defense, after they suffered a traumatic near-death experience in a flight over Afghanistan in February 2014.

The soldiers were on board a Royal Air Force Voyager jet, which was carrying 200 passengers total, when the plane began to fall.

The captain, who had been taking photos of the cabin, had dropped his camera, where it lodged in the airplane controls.

The military plane dropped and began to fall - 15,800 feet for 27 seconds.

The co-pilot, who was not in the cockpit at the time, was in freefall. Kicking off of the ceiling, he shot himself into the cockpit and dislodged the camera, saving the plane and everyone on board.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Rhicha Kapila, an associate solicitor at the law firm which is representing the soldiers, explained her clients' plight: "Some of them assumed the plane was being shot down over Afghanistan." The plane was actually passing over the Black Sea at the time.

"Personal items were being propelled to the back of the plane, passengers were screaming, lots of them were crying, they could hear people saying, 'Please don’t let me die'.

"It was a state of chaos and very frightening.

"Some of these service personnel have lost their military careers, one of whom was actually due to be commissioned [as an officer]," three of the soldiers were medically discharged after the incident. Others claim they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the shock and fear of the fall.

The Ministry of Defence said they cannot comment on individual cases.

However a spokesman added: "When compensation claims are submitted, we will carefully consider whether there is a legal liability to pay compensation.

"Where there is, we will."