Nimrod inquest: A long history of mechanical problems
Richard Norton-Taylor explains the risks of flying an aircraft earmarked for replacement almost a decade ago
A Nimrod MR2 lands at RAF Kinloss, near Inverness. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA
Richard Norton-Taylor
Last modified on Wednesday 28 October 2009 06.30 EDT
The Nimrod aircraft, designed more than 30 years ago to follow Soviet submarines over the North Atlantic, has had a long history of mechanical problems. These have been compounded by costly delays in producing the plane's long-awaited replacement.
The risk of having an unlagged hot air pipe running close to a fuel pipe was identified by an RAF board of inquiry last December as being the most likely cause of the crash. Some engineers said that design fault meant the aircraft should never have been passed fit to fly.
Certainly, the danger of an explosion increased the longer the ageing plane was kept in service.
Wing Commander John Bromehead, who was in charge of a team of Nimrod engineers at RAF Kinloss between June 2005 and 2006, said he was not told during the months before the crash about increased fuel leaks on the Nimrod, an aircraft he described as being "beyond its sell-by date".
Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, the head of the RAF, admitted last year that the risks involved were "underestimated". One of the reasons is that the Nimrod plays a vital role as the eyes and ears of troops on the ground. Its electronic listening devices pick up enemy communications and, more importantly, its video camera tells troops where the enemy is. "It's crucial for targeting," Andrew Brookes, a former RAF pilot now with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said today. There was a risk to the crew when flying the Nimrod and there was a risk to British troops on the ground if the Nimrod did not fly, experts said. Brookes said commanders were caught "between a rock and a hard place".
As more and more evidence emerged after the explosion of the Nimrod over southern Afghanistan in 2006 of many warnings given about potential problems with the aircraft, the MoD said that if the military did not have confidence in Nimrods, they would not continue to fly them.
The RAF's most senior engineer, Air Marshal Sir Barry Thornton, said today that new air-to-air refuelling procedures meant the Nimrod was now "safe to fly". He added: "We no longer use the very hot air systems in flight." The RAF has a total of 15 Nimrod surveillance and targeting aircraft of the kind that exploded near Kandahar. Their replacements were due to enter into service more than nine years ago. Delays have been due mainly problems relating to design, capability - and airworthiness.