http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1066722007
MoD refuses request to fit Nimrods with new safety system
Mon 9 Jul 2007 The Scotsman
JAMES KIRKUP
DEFENCE chiefs have refused an RAF request to fit its Nimrod aircraft with an early-warning system that might have prevented a near-fatal incident.
The decision has caused unease among airmen, who fear that the ageing Scottish-based spyplanes are increasingly vulnerable to technical failures.
In November 2004, a Nimrod flying from RAF Kinloss in Moray developed a crack in a super-heated air pipe.
The rupture in flight XV227's Supplementary Cooling Pack caused air heated to around 230C to blast against the airframe of the plane, burning through cables and metal.
Seals around the plane's fuel tanks were also damaged, sparking fears of an explosion.
Crucially, the crew of flight XV227 had no indication of a leak while they were in the air - it was only discovered after they returned to their Moray base.
An internal investigation into the 2004 incident by Kinloss commanders last year recommended that all Nimrods be fitted with a warning system to inform pilots and crew about possible future incidents.
But the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has rejected the inquiry's safety recommendation as unnecessary and impractical.
In its formal response to the Kinloss team's request for an air-pipe warning mechanism, the MoD has ruled that there is no need for the new safety system.
"The duct failure was an isolated incident and was in the only part of the system where a leak would not have been detected," the MoD said, adding that Nimrod air ducts are expected to last "well beyond" the planes' expected retirement date, early in the next decade.
The ministry also raised practical objections to an upgrade.
"Fitting a discrete hot air leak warning system would be a complex modification that would have to be embodied across the fleet during its maintenance cycle and therefore take several years to embody," the MoD said.
Since the Nimrods are close to retirement, the MoD ruled "the fitting of such a system was not considered to be practicable".
As a result, the Kinloss inquiry team's recommendation has now been marked "closed".
But the MoD's conclusion that the hot air leak was an "isolated incident" has been challenged.
In September 2006, another Nimrod, flight XV230 from Kinloss, exploded over Afghanistan, killing all 14 people aboard. A formal investigation is due to report soon, but reports have suggested the plane was brought down by leaking fuel that ignited.
However, one Scottish-based RAF source suggested an air pipe rupture was another possible cause: "What if 230C air was to be blasted from a broken duct against a fuel pipe/tank?"