Not being a pilot nor a Hercules engineer, air or ground, I have hesitated before raising my head above the parapet. However I did have a foot in two camps. I worked on the Javelin, Hunter and Lightning and flew for almost 30 years on the RAF C130K as a loadmaster . With my tech background I took an interest in the workings of the aeroplane. so I can follow well enough the technical discussion in the report.
That the maintenance team did not carry out the task in the prescribed manner is beyond doubt. But there is probably not a tradesman in any force in the world who has not had to 'work around' due to pressure to get the a/c back on line. The report highlighted the usual culprits of lack of tradesmen, spares (robbing is a wasteful and morale sapping necessity in most forces) and confusion about the paperwork qualifications. Often also the manuals do not reflect the actuality on the a/c. It also flagged up the disassociation some feel when the a/c do not 'belong' to them.
To my mind it was an implied criticism of the 'system' something I have never encountered in my experience of inquiries in the RAF. This of course in no way exonerates the tradesmen, it is just an attempt to understand from one who has been in analogous situations. Can we say that this situation is absent from the RAF today ? Are there any lessons to be learnt ?
As for the pilots and air engineer, I have struggled to understand the mindset. An Hercules crew knows that the propeller is a fickle friend who needs constant attention. They knew it had a valve housing change and the minimum of common sense would have required a very attentive run up as described by 'chugalug' and others. Then to get airborne with the a/c in the state it was in beggars belief. What was the engineer looking at ?
I have been in the a/c when we have taken it over after prop work. A fuselage rattling, tailplane shuddering run up was always the outcome to ensure that all was well..And a very careful monitor by the engineer as we rolled for T/O.
Time to duck before the sniping starts.