RAF airman sues Ministry of Defence for £500k after breaking back in cliff jump

An RAF airman who claims he broke his spine after being “encouraged” by a superior to jump off a 50-foot sea cliff is taking the Ministry of Defence to court for up to £500,000.

Ciaran Macmillan, 29, crushed part of his lower spine when he hit the water at the RAF base in Akrotiri, Cyprus, when he jumped into the Mediterranean alongside colleagues in May 2021.

Mr Macmillan, who was left with a clawed toe, drastically reduced mobility, and an abnormal gait, has launched a legal claim alleging that he should never have been allowed to take the high jump on sovereign British military land.

However, the MoD is refusing liability, arguing that the airman was not on duty at the time, but enjoying “downtime”, and had voluntarily accepted the inherent risks of making the leap.

Mr Macmillan — then a senior aircraftsman — had earlier jumped from a 10-foot ledge. He claimed that a senior NCO then “encouraged” him to step off the higher 50-foot platform.

He was alongside four friends and had leaped repeatedly from the lower ledge before ascending by rope to the higher position, according to court documents submitted by his barrister, Craig Carr.

A corporal, who had introduced him to the cliff site, “was behind him on the ledge and encouraged him to jump from it into the water”, the barrister said.

“Upon jumping into the water, the claimant immediately lost sensation in his legs. He swam to rocks at the base of the cliffs and was assisted out of the water.”

The airman needed decompression surgery to treat a burst fracture to his lower back, plus the insertion of screws and rods to help stabilise him.

His back injuries left him with “significant sensory disturbance” in his lower limbs and he now walks with an awkward gait, his barrister said in court documents.

“He can walk extremely short distances in the home without splints and his walking distance and ability outside is extremely limited, even with splints,” he added.

He is also now desk-bound and cannot be deployed on active service.

Mr Macmilllan, of Hopkins Avenue, Waddington, Lincolnshire, is now suing the MoD for negligence over his injuries, claiming RAF superiors “permitted, allowed and encouraged its members of staff to use the cliff area to jump 50 feet into the water”.

In addition, he says that those in command at the base failed to undertake risk assessments, failed to warn about the potential risks of high jumping, or to ensure adequate training for taking on the hair-raising cliff jumps before allowing them to go ahead.

Mr Macmillan’s lawyers say the cliffs were regularly accessed by local service personnel who were encouraged to use the area, while there was also a bolted rope in place to help with climbing the cliffs.

Soon after arriving at the RAF base, he was also taken to the cliff area by a junior NCO who “presented the area as one of the advantages of being based there”.

Mr Macmillan’s barrister also argued that the MoD was liable through the actions of its junior NCO in urging him to use the cliff ledges for jumping, and in “encouraging and thereby authorising him to jump from the ledge 50 feet above water”.

But lawyers for the MoD are disputing liability, with defence barrister, Daniel Laking, arguing that he courted disaster when he chose to take the jump: “He chose to jump from a 50-foot cliff which was an inherently risk and obviously dangerous act.

“He was free to choose whether to jump or not.”

Mr Macmillan was also not on duty at the time, but enjoying “downtime” and therefore the MoD owed him no duty of care at the time, Mr Laking said.

Nor was the cliff part of the airman’s workplace, argued the defence barrister, and the RAF was under no duty to make it safe.

“The activity of cliff jumping was not part of his duties required by his employment,” he added.

Mr Macmillan's claim has been filed at the High Court and will be listed for a trial at a later date, unless the parties are able to settle the case outside court.

Mr Macmillan joined the RAF in 2016 as an air and space operations specialist, following in the footsteps of his father, who ended up as an officer and rear crew flight instructor.

Father and son even ended up serving together for a time at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.