5/24/08 (UK):
RAF Spy Plane Unsafe, Says Expert
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The RAF Nimrod that exploded in mid-air killing 14 British servicemen was not airworthy, an aircraft manufacturer admitted yesterday.
Hushed gasps could be heard from bereaved relatives as BAE Systems chief engineer for the Nimrod conceded the point at the inquest into the deaths.
Martin Breakell said that based on what he had learned during the 12-day hearing, the ageing plane based at RAF Kinloss in Moray should not have left the ground.
On Wednesday, Group Captain Colin Hickman admitted the Nimrod was only "tolerably safe" because of faults identified since the crash.
BAE Systems Ltd is the successor to British Aerospace, which designed and built the Nimrod in the 1960s, modelling it on the De Havilland Comet airliner.
Mr Breakell's comments came in response to a direct question from a family member as to whether he believed the aircraft was safe to fly.
After arguing that he was not qualified to decide on certain parts of the Nimrod, he was pressed by the crew's relatives and the coroner.
Mr Breakell responded: "I concur that in regards to the evidence on the incident, then no, it wasn't." It was on September 2, 2006, that Nimrod XV230, at 37 the oldest plane in the fleet, caught fire and exploded while on Nato operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Oxford inquest has heard from many witnesses from the RAF, BAE Systems and maintenance and fuelling contractors, as well as a parts manufacturer.
Andrew Walker, assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire, has examined various theories as to what caused the greatest loss of life among British Armed Forces in a single incident since the Falklands war.
Theories put forward by investigators, including the RAF's own board of inquiry, have focused on a possible fuel leak on to a hot air pipe in a compartment next to one of the fuel tanks.
Mr Walker remains apparently unconvinced of that conclusion and instructed Mr Breakell to examine whether a leak on the high-pressure system on one of the Rolls Royce Spey engines could have been to blame.
The witness concluded, after consulting engineers at RAF Kinloss, that it was possible the fault lay with the engine system.
He added that he was "staggered" to learn from Rolls Royce that an engine could continue to function normally with a leak of up to 1,000 gallons per hour.
Group Captain Nicholas Sharpe, the president of the board of inquiry, stood by its own findings, insisting that - on the balance of probabilities - it had identified the likely cause of the fire.
Clearly struggling to accept that, the coroner said: "It is not my intention to criticise, directly or indirectly, the board of inquiry's findings. One must not forget that without the BoI, what is described as a serious design fault on this aircraft would continue to go unnoticed."
Michael Rawlinson, the lawyer for 13 of the 14 families, together with Mick Bell, whose brother Gerard died in the crash, paid tribute to the BoI team for their work.
As the formal evidence stage of the inquest concluded, Mr Rawlinson informed the coroner he would not be seeking verdicts of unlawful killing on the 14 servicemen.
Mr Rawlinson stated that the evidence had highlighted multiple failures, which were systemic, and as a result he was not looking to identify a single person responsible.
Those killed in the crash were Flight Lieutenant Steve Johnson, 38, from Elgin; Flt Lt Leigh Mitchelmore, 28, also from Elgin; Flt Lt Gareth Nicholas, 40, from Forres; Flight Lieutenant Allan Squires, 39, from Nairn; Flight Lieutenant Steve Swarbrick, 28, from Inverness; Flight Sergeant Gary Wayne Andrews, 48, from Fochabers; Flight Sergeant Stephen Beattie, 42, from Forres; Flight Sergeant Gerard Bell, 48, from Forres; Flight Sergeant Adrian Davies, 49, from Forres; Sergeant Benjamin "Tapper" Knight, 25, from Inverness; Sergeant John Langton, 29, from Forres, and Sergeant Gary Quilliam, 42, from Forres.
Corporal Oliver Simon Dicketts, 27, of 1st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, from Wadhurst, Sussex, and Royal Marine Joseph Windall, 22, from Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire, also died.
The hearing will resume today when the coroner will return a narrative verdict and his reasons for it.
He could recommend the grounding of the Nimrod fleet and its replacement and the introduction of cockpit voice recorders.
With thanks, © Aberdeen P&J, 2008
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