London ? A British coroner ruled Friday that an attack by two American pilots that killed a British soldier in Iraq was a criminal assault, contradicting a U.S. finding that the incident captured in a cockpit video was a tragic accident.

The finding has no direct legal consequences, but the case has stirred tensions between Britain and the United States, which declined to send the pilots to give evidence and refused to release the cockpit recording. The recording eventually was leaked to a British newspaper and broadcast across the world.

In the tape, one U.S. pilot says, “We’re in jail dude,” after realizing his team has killed a member of the coalition forces.

Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker did not say whether he would recommend a criminal investigation, and the widow of Lance Cpl. Matty Hull, 25, said she would not pursue criminal charges against the pilots.