EastEnders star Ross Kemp named in Afghan gunship crash probe that's taken eight years

The secret reasons behind a British helicopter gunship crash in Afghanistan ­witnessed by shocked Ross Kemp have been revealed.

The EastEnders actor saw the £6million Apache slam into the ground, shearing off the entire tail and destroying the attack chopper.

A heavily censored official report has finally been released EIGHT YEARS after the crash.

It blames a dust cloud which disorientated the pilot, plus exhaustion and insufficient experience.

But the Ministry of Defence board of inquiry also found that a number of visitors to the Apache that day, who appeared to include Kemp, were “a contributory factor to the overall focus of the crew”.

The star, who was in the war zone to film one of his hard-hitting documentaries, did NOT distract the two-man crew, says the report.

Kemp, 51, had been flown into Forward Operating Base Edinburgh – known as FOB EDI – in the Sangin Valley in 2008 to make a second series of Sky One’s Ross Kemp In Afghanistan.

The Apache – call-sign ZJ177 – was due to escort a CH-47 Chinook and Sea King helicopters airlifting troops to assault the Taliban.

As it took off it was engulfed in dust and hit the ground.

The pilot leaped from the wreck and pulled out his co-pilot gunner. Both were lucky to escape.

Kemp, who played Walford’s Grant Mitchell, said later: “I watched an Apache helicopter go belly-up. War is not cheap. But it is the human cost that is highest.”

The MoD report, ordered by Vice Admiral Anthony Johnstone-Burt, said: “The crew lacked sufficient experience for the complex, high-end, unsupervised operation, had become fatigued and were distracted at a critical juncture.”

The report added: “During the afternoon at FOB EDI the crew received a number of visitors wanting to view ZJ177, including Ross Kemp and medics.

"Whilst not a distraction at the time of the accident the board believes it was a contributory factor to the overall focus of the crew.”

An MoD spokesman said the main cause was the dust cloud that caused “spatial disorientation”.

Kemp is currently filming Extreme World in Syria. Sky One declined to comment.