In response to my note about a planned meeting with the commandant of A&AEE, K52 wrote "Are you stating that A&AEE had decided to ground the Chinook Mk2 BUT THAT NO ACTION WAS TAKEN BECAUSE THEY WERE UNABLE TO GET AN INTERVIEW WITH THE COMMANDANT?"
The answer is easy "No, I am not saying that !!" I did not say that NO action was taken and I did not say that no interview was granted.
A meeting had been arranged with the commandant but the accident happened before the interview. It is not unusual to have to suspend a trial. In this case it was clear to all concerned that not only were the safety issues very significant but also that this was a very politically charged decision; and that was BEFORE the accident! With hindsight, we might think an immediate meeting should have been granted. However, it was not unreasonable that an appointment had been made a few days ahead and time was needed to marshal the facts for such an important meeting.
That the RAF should have been continuing to fly the aircraft (not only on training but also, latterly, operationally) when not only A&AEE but their own people were expressing concern is THE ISSUE. The expressions of concern made by A&AEE to the RAF about the FADEC modification went back to 1989 (sic). This was no new issue. The meeting with the commandant was more about preparing him for the inevitable flak from MoD about stopping the trials. I don't think anyone thought that the RAF would change its decision to plough on regardless with using the aircraft.
Don't overestimate the power of A&AEE to restrict the services in using imperfect equipment. Whether A&AEE's "recommendations" are followed is, in the end, up to the Services. In those days, there was a document called a Service Deviation [probably still is]; a very useful way of over-riding or ignoring a restriction or recomemendation made by A&AEE. The most obvious risk of using a SD is to the career of the senior officer who signs it ! How sensitive would you feel if an aircraft you were operating on a Service Deviation crashed in apparently inexplicable circumstances ?