Nice to see The Sunday Times released their BoI findings last year, far ahead of anyone else.
What is the point of this article? Well, I suppose it keeps the Nimrod saga in the public eye, but it doesn't bring much to the table in terms of hard facts or anything else that hasn't already been fully aired on this site.
The fact remains that Nimrod is still an asset much in demand for lots of jobs in addition to the primary ones of ASW, ASuW and SAR. Unfortunately, the airframe is getting long in the tooth and requires a lot of maintenance. For that you need lots of qualified technicians, preferably with experience of legacy platforms. Where are they?
I hope the official BoI reports soon and provides answers to the families and friends of those trgically lost in XV230. Those still flying the Mighty Hunter have presumably made their own risk assessment. It is believed that some aircrew (front and back) have erred on the side of caution, others have taken advantage 'of increased job availability in the civil sector' as the MoD quaintly puts it!
Will the answers ever be known? Even Sherlock Holmes required evidence and I haven't seen a hangar full of wreckage yet.
The seeds of this tragedy, the loss of Hercules XV179, and all the other military scandals and deficiencies of recent times were sown many years ago. You may all have your own theories and explanantions, but in the first instance I suggest you direct your enquiries to:
Mr G Brown
11 Downing Street
LONDON SW1 1AA