For the MOD managers out there, lets take that a bit further
Cost of Ac (anywhere between £1 - £10m) lets say, £4m.
Cost of trg the flight crew (5) lets say approx £2m each = £10m
Cost of trg the rest of the crew (5) lets say approx £7m
Savings due pension vice salary approx £100k
Saving on NOT fitting foam (worst case) = £ 50k + £350k = £400k
So for the taxypayers sake,
We saved £0.5m but lost £21m
and now
we will have to spend another £21m to replace the crew and aircraft (if possible), while still losing all the crew's invaluable experience.
Ask yourself if this is good accounting or management? I fear the answer would be negative!
The old adage of "For a hay'p'th of tar the ship was lost" rings too true in our ears.