GTFPDQ
12-16-2009, 02:58 PM
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Two serving RAF officers are being investigated by military police over a plane crash in Afghanistan that killed 14 personnel.
The defence secretary, Bob Ainsworth, announced the inquiry as he apologised for safety "failings" that contributed to the Nimrod blowing up in mid-air in 2006.
An independent report in October by Charles Haddon-Cave QC strongly criticised the Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems and QinetiQ. He concluded that the accident had been preventable and said a safety review of the ageing Nimrod fleet completed a year earlier had been a "lamentable job" that was "riddled with errors" and had failed to identify serious design flaws that contributed to the crash.
Relatives of those killed have demanded prosecutions of individuals in government and at the firms who were named by the report as potentially having committed offences.
Ainsworth told the Commons: "The Nimrod XV230 was lost as a result of a number of failings in the MoD and industry over a period of some three decades. Opportunities to discover and avoid the dangers, particularly during development of the safety case, were missed.
"In part this was due to specific errors. It was also because MoD's aviation safety processes had become too cumbersome, complex and lacking in transparency and accountability. Despite the efforts of many hard-working men and women in the MoD and private sector to deliver safe aircraft, the result was simply not good enough."
He said BAE Systems and QinetiQ were both conducting internal investigations into their staff who were named in the report.
"In relation to the two serving RAF officers who were named, neither officer currently holds a position in any way related to safety," he said. "An RAF police investigation is now under way."
Ainsworth said he was creating an independent Military Aviation Authority to regulate air activities. The body will be headed by a three-star military officer, will have 250 staff and will start work in April.
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/FourteenPersonnelInAfghanistanNimrodCrashNamed.htm
Those who were lost.
Flt Lt Steven Johnson
Flt Lt Leigh Anthony Mitchelmore
Flt Lt Gareth Rodney Nicholas
Flt Lt Allan James Squires
Flt Lt Steven Swarbrick
FS Gary Wayne Andrews
FS Stephen Beattie
FS Gerard Martin Bell
FS Adrian Davies
Sgt Benjamin James Knight
Sgt John Joseph Langton
Sgt Gary Paul Quilliam
Cpl Oliver Simon Dicketts, Parachute Regiment
Mne Joseph David Windall, Royal Marines
FS Gerard Martin Bell (then Cpl) and I worked together on Phantoms, he was a stellar guy, true professional. RIP Gez.
Two serving RAF officers are being investigated by military police over a plane crash in Afghanistan that killed 14 personnel.
The defence secretary, Bob Ainsworth, announced the inquiry as he apologised for safety "failings" that contributed to the Nimrod blowing up in mid-air in 2006.
An independent report in October by Charles Haddon-Cave QC strongly criticised the Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems and QinetiQ. He concluded that the accident had been preventable and said a safety review of the ageing Nimrod fleet completed a year earlier had been a "lamentable job" that was "riddled with errors" and had failed to identify serious design flaws that contributed to the crash.
Relatives of those killed have demanded prosecutions of individuals in government and at the firms who were named by the report as potentially having committed offences.
Ainsworth told the Commons: "The Nimrod XV230 was lost as a result of a number of failings in the MoD and industry over a period of some three decades. Opportunities to discover and avoid the dangers, particularly during development of the safety case, were missed.
"In part this was due to specific errors. It was also because MoD's aviation safety processes had become too cumbersome, complex and lacking in transparency and accountability. Despite the efforts of many hard-working men and women in the MoD and private sector to deliver safe aircraft, the result was simply not good enough."
He said BAE Systems and QinetiQ were both conducting internal investigations into their staff who were named in the report.
"In relation to the two serving RAF officers who were named, neither officer currently holds a position in any way related to safety," he said. "An RAF police investigation is now under way."
Ainsworth said he was creating an independent Military Aviation Authority to regulate air activities. The body will be headed by a three-star military officer, will have 250 staff and will start work in April.
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/FourteenPersonnelInAfghanistanNimrodCrashNamed.htm
Those who were lost.
Flt Lt Steven Johnson
Flt Lt Leigh Anthony Mitchelmore
Flt Lt Gareth Rodney Nicholas
Flt Lt Allan James Squires
Flt Lt Steven Swarbrick
FS Gary Wayne Andrews
FS Stephen Beattie
FS Gerard Martin Bell
FS Adrian Davies
Sgt Benjamin James Knight
Sgt John Joseph Langton
Sgt Gary Paul Quilliam
Cpl Oliver Simon Dicketts, Parachute Regiment
Mne Joseph David Windall, Royal Marines
FS Gerard Martin Bell (then Cpl) and I worked together on Phantoms, he was a stellar guy, true professional. RIP Gez.