RAF Nimrod Not 'Airworthy', Says Coroner

The coroner at the inquest into the death of 14 servicemen killed in the crash of a service aircraft has urged that the entire RAF Nimrod fleet be grounded.

The 37-year-old Nimrod 'spy plane' involved burst into flames at 3,000 ft in September, 2006, killing all on board.

The incident happened after the reconnaissance aircraft refuelled near Kandahar, the second largest city of Afghanistan.

Coroner Andrew Walker, Assistant Deputy Coroner for Oxfordshire said that the ill-fated plane had "inherent dangers" which were missed and that "a design fault" led to the fatal explosion.

Mr Walker said that "in his view the fleet had never been airworthy from the first time it was released to the service".

A RAF Board of Inquiry (BoI) said that "ageing components" and "a lack of modern fire suppressants" were among the "contributing factors" to the tragedy.

A RAF Board of Inquiry (BoI) found that the most likely cause of the explosion was a leakage of fuel during air-to-air refuelling.

The crew had no means of extinguishing the fire and attempted an emergency descent to the Kandahar airbase but the aircraft was seen to explode by an RAF Harrier pilot.

Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth has apologised to the families of the victims but has insisted that the Nimrod was safe.

"My thoughts are with the families, friends and collegues of those who died in XV230. On behalf of the MOD and the Royal Air Force, I would like to apologise again the families of those who died for our failing which led to this tragic accident."

Mr Ainsworth added that the independent review of the airworthiness and safety of the Nimrod is ongoing.

Air Marshal Sir Barry Thornton, Chief of Materiel (Air), said: "I can assure you that the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force place the highest priority on airworthiness and the safety of our personnel in the air and those we support in operations in the ground. We would not ask our personnel to fly in aircraft we did not believe were safe."

The 12 RAF personnel killed were Flt Lt Steven Johnson, Flt Lt Leigh Anthony Mitchelmore, Flt Lt Gareth Rodney Nicholas, Flt Lt Allan James Squires, Flt Lt Steven Swarbrick, Flt Sgt Gary Wayne Andrews, Flt Sgt Stephen Beattie, Flt Sgt Gerard Martin Bell and Flt Sgt Adrian Davies, Sgt Benjamin James Knight, Sgt John Joseph Langton and Sgt Gary Paul Quilliam.

The personnel were based at RAF Kinloss in Forres, Scotland. Two other servicement who were travelling attached to the squadron also died.

L/Cpl Oliver Simon Dicketts, from the Parachute Regiment, and Royal Marine Joseph David Windall also died.

The MoD is under no obligations to ground the fleet.

See: RAF Death Inquest Resumes

(DS)