Chinook - Still Hitting Back 3 (Merged)

[Vertico]

Boscombe Down "grounding"

ShyTorque,

As I've said on this thread before, as an ex-Boscombe Down tp myself, I find it simply mind-boggling that the flight was allowed to go ahead the day after Boscombe had declared the type unfit to fly, even for a flight test programme.

The reason for carrying out such programmes is to find faults in aircraft or their equipment which need to be fixed before the type or equipment can be cleared for Service use. It is all too common for quite alarming faults to be found. Usually, there are ways of working around problem areas pending a "fix" so that the programme is not brought to a standstill - with the inevitable delay then to the Service clearance.

As I have written here before, in all my years at Boscombe it was extremely rare for a whole trial to be halted because the aircraft type concerned was considered unsafe for flight - and unprecedented for the RAF/Navy/Army then to continue to operate the type. The importance of this particular mission simply emphasises the absurdity of the senior Commanders' decision to allow the flight to proceed. That decision is all the more absurd in the light of the crew's concerns, which you mention.