We have now published the various documents and statements on the MOD website.
BEGINS/
The MOD has now published the report of the Board of Inquiry into the tragic loss of
Nimrod XV230 in which 14 servicemen lost their lives on 2 September 2006.
You can download a copy of the Board of Inquiry report here:
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/Ab...odMr2Xv230.htm
Des Browne, the Secretary of State for Defence said:
"I pay tribute to the fourteen Service personnel who lost their lives in this tragic
incident. My thoughts are with their families and friends and, indeed, the men and
women of the Armed Forces who I know feel the loss of their colleagues very deeply.
"The Board of Inquiry established the most probable cause of the fire and subsequent
loss of XV230 and in doing so identified failings for which the Ministry of Defence
must take responsibility. On behalf of the MOD and the Royal Air Force, I would like
to apologise to the House of Commons, and most of all to those who lost their lives,
and to their families. I am sorry.
"My Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that a similar accident cannot
occur again. We are learning the lessons from the accident and have already
implemented many of the recommendations of the BOI report.
"On the basis of these actions, the Chief of the Air Staff’s professional judgment is
that the Nimrod fleet is safe to fly. I have accepted his advice. I have, however,
decided to put in place a review of the arrangements for assuring the airworthiness
and safe operation of the Nimrod MR2. This review will be led by a senior Queen’s
Counsel, assisted by technical experts on aviation systems, and will examine all
relevant papers, and interview all those in a position to assist including BAE Systems
and Qinetiq.”
Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, Chief of the Air Staff said:
"The 14 brave Service personnel who died in this tragic accident behaved in an
exemplary manner during the tragic events of 2 September last year.
"The Board stated that the crew of Nimrod XV230 were faced with a series of complex
and demanding emergencies and acted throughout with calm professionalism, and did
everything possible to save their aircraft. Their families, friends and colleagues
should be very proud of them all.
"Action has been taken to prevent the reoccurrence of this accident and I would like
to reassure our service personnel and the public that this aircraft is still safe to
fly. I would like to thank the BOI team publicly for their thorough and very detailed
report. The nature of the crash made this a particularly difficult investigation.”
Due to incomplete evidence arising from the nature of the crash and its hostile
location, the Board was not able to identify with absolute certainty the cause of the
fire on Nimrod XV230.
The BOI has put forward the most likely scenario for the fire and the events and
factors which led to the loss of the aircraft. The fire most likely resulted from
escaped fuel igniting against a hot pipe in a compartment near the wing-fuselage
attachment – the No 7 tank dry bay.
The fuel probably gained access to the pipe through a gap between two types of
insulation. The fuel most likely escaped from one of two possible sources: the action
of a pressure-relief device in the main fuel tank, which led to an overflow of fuel
during Air to Air Refuelling, or a leaking fuel coupling.
Immediately following the loss of XV230 a number of measures were taken by the RAF to
ensure that a similar scenario did not occur again. These include: turning off all
possible ignition sources wherever possible, including the hot air pipe; a fleet-wide
examination of areas where flammable materials such as fuel or hydraulic fluid may be
placed in relative proximity to potential sources of ignition should a leak occur; and
increasing inspections of the area to detect any faults at as early a stage as
possible; during this process no evidence of any fleet-wide problems was identified.
The Board made 33 recommendations to ensure safety measures are formally incorporated
within Nimrod procedures. The vast majority of these have already been implemented to
ensure the safety of the Nimrod fleet and its crews.
The loss of 14 courageous Servicemen from all 3 Services is a tragedy, for the
families and for their comrades throughout the United Kingdom. The Ministry of Defence
takes seriously the duty of care it owes to its Servicemen and women, and will
consider the lessons to be learned from the sad loss of this aircraft and its crew.
The MOD has published some additional briefing material which attempts to explain the
BOI's findings in simpler language. This material does not overwrite or replace the
the BOI report:
- Timeline of events and reconstruction of events leading to the crash of Nimrod
XV230 on 02 September 2006.
- Actions Taken to Reduce Risk to Nimrod Operations.
- Overview of the Board’s findings and summary of recommendations and actions.
- Possible Contributing Factors to the Loss of Nimrod XV230
You can download a copy of this material here:
http://www.operations.mod.uk/special...20Briefing.pdf
The RAF convenes a Board of Inquiry following the loss of any of its aircraft to
establish the circumstances of the loss and learn lessons to ensure, if at all
possible, that such a loss does not occur again. The Board of Inquiry consisted of 2
aircrew each with over 20 years’ experience of Nimrod operations and an engineer with
33 years’ of aircraft engineering experience.
The Department of Transport’s Air Accident Investigation Board conducted a parallel
investigation and was involved from the earliest stages. Technical experts from other
government departments and independent scientific and technical companies were also
consulted.
/ENDS
Robin Riley
Assistant Director (Bureau)
Directorate of Defence Public Relations
Ministry of Defence
This material was posted by the Ministry of Defence. You can find a copy here:
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/De...imrodXv230.htm