Misleading journalism!
The Times article BEagle has placed a link to states:
"......A Harrier aircraft followed the aircraft down and saw the starboard wing explode first, followed a few seconds later by the rest of the aircraft. The base commander said in the inquiry report that more such incidents were likely to occur because the Nimrod was 10 years past its “out of service” date. “The unexpected failure should be ever at the forefront of our minds,” he said......"
My understanding of the sequence of events is that the "base commander" in question is a previous Stn Cdr, and his comments are in relation to the incident with XV227 - indeed they are part of the report into the incident. HIS COMMENTS WERE MADE BEFORE THE TRAGIC LOSS OF XV230! By writing his article the way he has the journalist has DELIBERATELY (apparently/allegedly, etc) created the impression that the statement was made in relation to the loss of XV230 - cheap shot and misleading!
The statement of the Stn Cdr in question is perfectly valid, I am not trying to dispute that, and of relevance to the debate, but there was no need to DELIBERATELY (it would appear to me/allegedly, etc) use it out of context.
I stand ready to be corrected by someone more knowledgeable than myself!