RAF chiefs pay tribute to second Cairngorms avalanche victim
Tributes have been paid by air force colleagues to the second victim to be named following Thursday’s avalanche in the Chalamain Gap in the Cairngorms which claimed three lives.
Flight Lieutenant Fran Capps has been described as a dedicated officer with a ‘joie de vivre’ by her senior officers.
The 32-year-old, originally from Dulverton, Somerset, was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 2001 as a logistics.
She had worked on a variety of Royal Air Force stations, most recently with the Chinook Force at Royal Air Force Odiham in North Hampshire.
Flight Lieutenant Capps had served on operational tours in Iraq, the Falkland Islands, Afghanistan and Qatar.
Officer Commanding Logistics Squadron, Squadron Leader Georgina Mews, said: "Fran was an exceptional person to know, having unbounded passion and energy and being loved by everyone on the Squadron.
"Her loss will be felt across the whole Logistics Community and wider."
Group Captain Dominic Toriati, the Station Commander at Royal Air Force Odiham, said: "Flight Lieutenant Fran Capps was an exceptionally dedicated Royal Air Force Officer and logistician who was well known throughout the service for her remarkable commitment, her joie de vivre and her utter professionalism.
"Fran achieved success wherever she served most recently receiving a Chief of Joint Operations Commendation for her professional excellence, confidence and ‘can-do’ approach in Al Udeid.
"From Basrah to Kandahar to the Falkland Islands, Fran’s boundless spirit and energy has shone through.
"A measure of the regard in which she was held was her selection to represent the Royal Air Force at the London Olympic medal ceremonies, where she brought her characteristic mixture of fun and hard work to bear to inspire her own team.
"Fran loved adventurous sport taking part in activities including the Scotland Coast to Coast Challenge and she would have been in her element in the Cairngorms in winter.
"These characteristics were evident to all who met her at Royal Air Force Odiham. She was a popular and dynamic officer with huge potential for the future whose loss will be sorely felt."
He added: "Flight Lieutenant Fran Capps will be missed by all and our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this very sad time."
Wg Cdr Ian Richardson, Chairman of the RAF Mountaineering Association, said: "Flight Lieutenant Fran Capps was a bubbly and enthusiastic member of the committee and Association.
"Having gained high altitude experience on an expedition to the Indian Himalayas in 2006, she went on to share her experience and develop other mountaineers by successfully leading a group on an expedition that circumnavigated Mount Kenya and summited Pt Lenana.
"Her outstanding organisation had transformed aspects of the committee’s administration over the last year or so. Fran was always smiling, always enthusiastic, always welcoming and always willing to get involved and share her love of the hills with everyone in the association and beyond.
"She will be sorely missed."
Air Commodore Russell La Forte, President of the RAF Mountaineering Association, said: "I and all members of the RAF Mountaineering Association are shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of two of our colleagues in an avalanche in the Cairngorm Mountains.
"Both Rimon Than (the other officer killed int he avalanche) and Fran were stalwart members of the association.
"Talented mountaineers and tireless members of the association’s committee, they both contributed an enormous amount to RAF and Service mountaineering, having led groups on expeditions overseas.
"They will be greatly missed by the military mountaineering community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families at this tragic time."
