Nimrod Information

[nigegilb]

I am just glad the Captain used sound judgement and asked a crew member to carry out a crew procedure that has been in use since September 2006.
Is there a Nimrod crew out there that would not monitor the bomb bay for fuel leaks?

I take exception to anyone here suggesting the actions of the Captain to instigate a Mayday and divert to Kandahar with a fuel leak spraying all over his bomb bay were unnecessary. The actions of the crew were exemplary, anyone stating that it would have been a better to recover to base should state clearly who they are. If the BoI know the source of ignition it should already have been promulgated to the crews. There are people here suggesting it is possible to design out a risk of fuel explosion. I suggest you write to the FAA or Mr Boeing. Airline manufacturers believed for years that through sound engineering practice they could design out the possiblilty of fuel tanks exploding. However, incidents continued to happen. FAA is now in the process of regulating for the mandatory fitment of fuel tank protection.

It was not the fuel that ignited on XV179 it was the fuel vapours in the ullage. I reject any suggestion that a bomb bay full of fuel is safe. The very thought is laughable. Anyone suggesting it is safe should clearly state the cause of the ignition of the fuel/fuel vapour in XV230.

Furthermore, BAe suggested that MR2 should fly with extended range tanks with fuel extinguishant. I am not particularly clever, but even I can work out that at a stroke this would negate the need for AAR and would provide fire protection at the same time. Anyone suggesting here that bomb bay fire protection in XV230 would have made no difference to the outcome is a fool. The guys were 8 miles or so from landing. You simply cannot say that. BAe warned of the possibility of losing aircraft if the recommendation was not taken up. The RAF ignored this warning.

Finally there has been a defence of the CoC on this thread. Your CoC ordered crews to continue AAR sorties 2 days after the crash. This is an absolute failure of leadership in my view. A leadership that has refused to insist on fuel tank protection, bomb bay protection and flight deck armour on the replacement aircraft.

I invite you to read this press release.

SAN DIEGO, July 20 /-- Developed by San Diego-based technology development company Phyre Technologies Inc., the GOBIGGS(TM) (Green On-Board Inert Gas Generation System) is the first environmentally friendly fuel tank safety system developed for large passenger jets. The system, designed to protect aircraft from fuel tank explosions like that of TWA Flight 800 11 years ago, was successfully demonstrated in May 2007 at the FAA's Atlantic City Technology Center.

The result of several years' development in the anticipation of the pending FAA ruling that will require improved fuel tank safety systems on commercial passenger aircraft, the GOBIGGS(TM) fuel tank inerting system reduces flammability levels of fuel tank vapors by dramatically reducing the oxygen level. This removes the likelihood of a potential explosion from an ignition source.

This technology is similar to existing OBIGGS technology, in that it was designed to be used by both commercial and military aircraft, to dramatically reduce the chance of a fuel tank explosion. Yet, unlike existing OBIGGS, which continually exhausts raw fuel vapor into the environment, Phyre's GOBIGGS(TM) system uses a state-of-the-art closed-loop catalyst design that converts the fuel vapor into an inert gas that is recycled back into the fuel tank. This means pollutants, such as hydrocarbons, are not pumped out into the atmosphere. Not only does GOBIGGS(TM) eliminate the damage to the environment caused by the fuel vapor, it also eliminates the hazard to airport personnel.

With the almost certain, yet-pending FAA ruling that will require retrofitting of all, large airplane designs with a fuel tank safety system, the successful debut of Boeing's new Dreamliner 787 aircraft (the first commercial passenger jet built with a non-green inerting system), and the current worldwide focus on global warming, the environmentally friendly GOBIGGS(TM) is positioned to be one of the most significant technologies developed for large passenger aircraft to date.