Prince William‘s former flying instructor has passed away from cancer of the blood and bone marrow after years of exposure to toxic fumes from military helicopters.
According to The Daily Mail, Zach Stubbings—a former flight sergeant and helicopter winchman—was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2013, thirteen years after he joined RAF Search and Rescue when he was 21 years old. He passed away last month in a hospice at the age of 47 after fighting the disease for over a decade.
Former navy commander and fellow pilot Richard Sutton revealed the news of Stubbings’ death. Stubbings and Sutton, who was diagnosed with the rare cancer epithelioid fibrosarcoma 12 years ago, are among hundreds of Armed Forces personnel who claim their cancers were caused by exposure to toxic helicopter exhaust fumes.
The former pilots for the RAF and Navy have been diagnosed with cancers including throat cancer, lung cancer, testicular cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, and have accused the Ministry of Defence of failing to protect crew members from carcinogenic emissions from military helicopters.
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Stubbings, who trained Prince William when he was based at RAF Valley, Anglesey, from 2010 to 2013, described the experience of dealing with the toxic fumes last year to MailOnline.
“If you’re by the cargo door, the exhaust comes right through. Even worse, if you’re working on the winch, which I was, you’re putting your head right out into it,” he said.
“Sometimes the wind whipped it away, but mostly it pulled the fumes back so you got a face full and would be coughing and eyes streaming. And the smell!” he continued, adding, “We had to clean everything. It didn’t feel right. There was no protection, nothing. We all complained about it.”
Prince William has not issued a comment on Stubbings’ death.
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