Duty Of Care
Rant On
The MoD has a duty of care to its "employees" and those directly influenced by it's activities (civilians on the ground etc). Recent comment - Panel falls of AWACS, no risk to public, What ???????????? I would ask where is the duty of care?
Had the Nimrod incident happened in the UK I would expect the press and the public to be crying for blood. Because it happened on ops it is ok?
The current culture (probably should say policy) within UK Military Aviation is to drive out costs and manage the risks associate with an accident occurring. It is not as safe as civil aviation, policy dictates that the probability of catastrophic failure is lower than on a civil aircraft. SofS has demanded a review of the safety case for the Nimrod, AOC 2 has indicated that all of his fleets should be subject to similar reviews.
The airworthiness management chain in the UK MoD has BROKEN.
Groundcrew and aircrew have raised concerns about lean, and cost cuts.
Swiss Des needs to review the regulation of Military Aviation and start to realise that root and branch reform is needed. Military aircraft are highly complicated machines designed by people with tefal heads. How can an engineering officer really understand the implications of their decisions several years on? More to the point, where is the independence in the process to challenge their decisions.
TD's comments are 150% correct, the aircrew and groundcrew are being let down by the people on the ground - the policy makers who are doing the wrong thing in order to balance the books are letting them down.
Rant Off
Whoever the QC is that investigates the Safety Case needs to get lots of e-mails, calls, etc, asking them to look into the establishment of an independent Military Airworthiness Authority as part of the CAA. Implement Mil Part M and Mil Part 145 across all fleets and regulate it INDEPENDANTLY.
To avoid incoming, I have respect for the Engineering Branch, but suspect that the cost cutting mentality is driving them to overlook the consequences of their decisions. The risk of Corporate Manslaughter is a massive driver in making sure, as a civvie, that your engineering solution is robust. Make the wrong decision and you live with the consequences.