A 'star' British Army officer was killed during a training exercise when he was reversed over by a tank that had nine known faults, an inquest heard 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.
An inquest today heard the faults were not given top priority status so did not need to be fixed before the tank was used.
The death on June 21, 2022, came four years after the broken alarm was first identified, Salisbury Coroner's Court heard.
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 Army admitted that the decision to use a faulty tank was 'not correct' after a further 24 severe faults were detected following Second Lieutenant George's death, his inquest heard.
The fallen Army officer was a former head of school and boating captain at the prestigious Durham School, where his parents taught before going to university and later completing a master's degree.
Second Lieutenant George had been an Army reservist from the third year of his undergraduate degree, but decided to join the regular Army after completing his master's.
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.
Members of 5 Rifles were taking part in Exercise Combat Spirit when the incident happened on Salisbury Plain, the inquest was told.
The court heard the Warrior FV511 tank was different from the usual FV510 and more difficult for soldiers to exit.
Lieutenant Colonel Graham Watson was appointed to lead a service investigation into the soldier's death.
The officer's mother, Vivienne George, told the court her son was 'utterly professional' with 'effortless leadership qualities'
He told the inquest the vehicle was being commanded by a student commander, with an experienced driver and gunner and two other occupants, including Second Lieutenant George.
Colonel Watson said: 'The other platoons commenced an advanced contact where they drive the vehicles until they reach the enemy and then engage in combat through the enemy's position.
'They reached their objective, a wood, and one section debussed at the southern end and another at the northern end to sweep through.
'As the sections cleared the woods on foot, the company commander realised they were in danger of engaging each other so he decided to put someone on the ground to prevent that. He chose Max George to coordinate the two sections.
'Approximately five to ten seconds after stopping he left the vehicle and was seen momentarily struggling with either a day pack or antenna which was caught in the door. He then tried to take his weapon from the vehicle.
'They checked the periscope and could no longer see George.
'After believing George was clear the commander commanded the driver to reverse. He reversed quickly to not be the subject of enemy fire.
'George was still at the rear and was reaching for his weapon in the vehicle. He was knocked to the ground and then run over by the left hand track.'
The court heard two safety supervisors arrived within seconds but assessed that nothing could be done to resuscitate the officer.
Colonel Watson went on to describe the faults with the vehicle, saying six were 'limited role' faults which in this case meant the vehicle couldn't be used for live firing.
The other three faults were classed as 'fully fit' faults, all relating to the rear doors, which didn't affect use.
He said that in June 2018 a snapped cable was recorded on an alarm which would sound if the rear doors were open and the vehicle was in gear.
The court heard the rear door locking plunger 'was also stuck so couldn't be locked in position'.
Colonel Watson continued: 'Anyone standing up to 4.8 metres away from the vehicle would be in its blind-spot.
'The driver does have a "door open" light on the driver's panel but because the wiring loop was broken he has no way of knowing if the door was open or closed because it wasn't working.'
A British Army panel report on the incident concluded that if the alarm had worked the death would 'never have occurred'.
The court heard the Warrior was inspected after the incident and 24 additional faults ‘with all aspects of the vehicle including the tracks, mirrors and body of the vehicle’, were found, but none had contributed to the soldier’s death.
Second Lieutenant George's mother Vivienne George told the coroner her son had a reputation of being 'utterly professional' with 'effortless leadership qualities'.
She said: '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.'
The three-day inquest continues.