AN UNDERSIZED inner tube was the likely cause of a car smash in the Middle East in which a South Cerney-based soldier died, an inquest heard.
Fijian Pte Tuate Tumani-kaitai Qionimacawa, 31, known as Josh, was serving in Oman when he died in the crash, just north of Thumrait last September.
Wiltshire coroner David Masters recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Mr Masters said how Josh was a front seat passenger in a Toyota Land Cruiser when the driver lost control after a blow-out and the vehicle crashed, rolling several times.
The driver, Pte John Calvin, who, like Josh, served in the 29th Regiment Royal Logistical Corp, told the inquest he thought the front left tyre had blown when in fact it was the rear right tyre.
Accident investigators who examined the scene said the Europe Car rented off-roader had been fitted with a repaired, undersized inner tube which would cause the tyre to deteriorate and eventually to fail.
The coroner urged that Europe Car in Oman be made aware of the incorrect inner tube which was fitted to its vehicle, the type of which are widely leased to the British Army.
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