Might refocus attention on aromatic polyimide wiring insulation
AKA KAPTON - the Nimrod is full of it
'On-board fire' caused fatal Afghan crash
From correspondents in London
September 04, 2006
THE aircraft crash in Afghanistan that killed 14 British military personnel on Saturday was caused by an on-board fire, it was reported today.
According to The Times, citing an unnamed military source, a short circuit inside the aircraft caused a spark leading to a fire, with smoke engulfing the work stations of the men on board.
Meanwhile, The Sun newspaper reported that fire warning detectors went off, with flames damaging the fuselage and disabling the Nimrod MR2's controls.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would not comment on the reports, saying only that: "The indications are that there was a technical problem of some sort".
The Royal Air Force Nimrod MR2 reconnaissance plane, on a NATO mission, came down in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan on Saturday.
The military is investigating the disaster, which led to the single biggest loss of British troops in Afghanistan or Iraq since the US-led war on terror was launched in November 2001.
Twelve RAF personnel, a Royal Marine and a British Army soldier were killed.
The incident brings the number of British armed forces personnel deaths in Afghanistan since the start of operations against the hardline Taliban regime in 2001 to 36, including 15 in combat.
Based on the Comet, which more than 50 years ago was the world's first jet airliner, the Nimrod was introduced into RAF service in 1969 and upgraded to the N2 in the 1980s.