Thanks brown, watching a spy drama based on a true story (Alexander Wilson) with my cousin and explained the disappearing records of the Trident that ended up in Manchester with a viable bomb on board and how I had inadvertently been sent an internal email as to how I might get release shortly afterwards to be told to delete it. When the 40 years non release period expired I applied for it again to be told that there was no record of it.
wrt onboard manuals seem to remember that the clowns who decided to fly back to LHR from LAX after an engine stall and shutdown then miss managed the fuel because some bright spark had changed the cross feeding checklist to use the jettison pumps did have the manuals on board which if they had read and understood them would have avoided declaring a mayday.