THE pilot of the Kent Air Ambulance which crashed in July 1998, killing the three men on board, was not to blame for the tragedy, an investigation has revealed.

Graham Budden died alongside paramedics Mark Darby, 37, and Tony Richardson, 47, when his helicopter came down, touched an electricity cable, hit the ground and exploded.

The helicopter had no "black box" and the wreckage was almost totally destroyed by fire, which hampered an investigation to find out the cause of the crash.

But two theories were put forward either that 40-year-old Mr Budden had deliberately flown low or that the helicopter had a malfunction and Mr Budden had been trying to land it as quickly as possible.

He may have been diverting to a different landing spot to his intended one, at Rochester Airport, to try and land the craft safely.

No evidence, however, was provided to prove the first theory and it was also rejected by the Air Accident Investigation Board (AAIB).

The latter was supported by witnesses of the crash as well as from accounts of local people who were used to seeing the craft.

They reported the helicopter's flight path to be odd and that the craft was making unusual noises.

A judge at Manchester High Court ruled that the accident was down to mechanical malfunction, rather than to pilot error.

After the hearing, his widow Linda Budden, who lives in Surrey with her children, Gemma, 21 and Kirk, 19, said: "It has been a difficult six years for us. Not only losing a husband and father to our two children, but also having this element of doubt hanging over us about who was to blame for the accident."

Father of two Mr Darby lived in Borstal Road, Rochester, and Mr Richardson, who had two grown-up children, lived in West Park Road, Maidstone.