Maybe it's just the way I was reading it but it seems to relate in the main to the Qinetiq report not a leak of the BoI maybe with the exception of this...
Details relating to prospective repairs on the plane that exploded over Afghanistan could not be traced by those examining the fuel tank system of the plane.
Other documents appear to corroborate this view. Something that will of made the BoI a more difficult task that it already was.
The 12 deficiencies mentioned in the Qinetiq report, published in March 2006, focus on mechanics' working practices. They cite staff using out-of-date generic manuals that did not relate to the specifics of the spy plane and the lack of an 'adhesion promoter' to properly carry out repairs to the aircraft's fuel tanks. So alarmed were the authors of the report that they recommend that a team of specialists should review the findings and make urgent improvements.
Did a team of specialists review the findings and make urgent improvements?
'The overall control and quality of the [mechanics'] work was not helped by the loss of venting equipment, inadequate tooling and poor upkeep,' said the report. Experts highlighted a 'critical need to improve the training' of Nimrod mechanics, a 'deficiency of appropriate tooling for sealant stripping', and a 'lack of expertise and critical loss of experienced personnel that has had a major impact on the efficiency of RAMS [mechanics] in carrying out fuel tank repair work'.
The lack of suitably skilled mechanics was serious enough, the report adds, to have 'diminished the consistency of fuel tank repair work with a possible impact on the reliability of those repairs' and may have compromised the 'effective sealing of leaks'.
This Qinetiq report should have the MoD lawyers working overtime trying to wriggle out of a charge of gross negligence.