Flight Sergeant Zach Stubbings, a former colleague of Prince William during his time in the Royal Air Force (RAF), has sadly passed away at the age of 47.
Mr. Stubbings, who served alongside the Prince when he was a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot at RAF Valley in Anglesey from 2010 to 2013, succumbed to multiple myeloma in January. He had battled the bone marrow cancer for several years.
In a May 2024 interview with The Times, Mr. Stubbings praised the future King, calling him “amazing and brilliant.”
He was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 after 15 years of RAF service, including nine years spent inhaling toxic exhaust fumes from Sea King helicopters. At the time of diagnosis, doctors gave him a decade to live.
Following his diagnosis, Mr. Stubbings was one of five individuals awarded compensation by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Last year, the MoD launched an investigation into cancer diagnoses among armed forces personnel who served as aircrew, particularly those who flew on helicopters such as Sea King, Wessex Puma, and Chinook.
A spokesperson for the MoD expressed their condolences: “Any death is a tragedy, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Zach Stubbings at this difficult time.
“We take the health of our personnel extremely seriously and regularly review our processes to ensure we’re doing all we can to protect our people. We are currently testing exhaust emissions from in-service helicopters to ensure we meet our duty of care for personnel. It’s essential that we provide assurance of workplace safety to our people.”
