fergineer:
Do I know that my car will not fall apart tomorrow........
I think that you can at least be pretty confident that the Type Approval from the DoT means that your car was constructed in accordance with UK vehicle regulations and that, for example, fuel lines will not be placed above exhaust pipes so that a clip failure would not allow the former to impinge on the latter with disastrous results. The same would apply to manufacturer type mods where problems might have been observed and corrected. Given the evidence on this forum no such confidence can be placed in UK Military Aircraft as the Airworthiness Authority (ie the MOD) has deliberately and recklessly subverted its own regulations to produce a situation where no type can be assumed to be airworthy. This is not simply a crisis for the Nimrod fleet, though its tragedy has been to be one of the tragic recipients of the consequences of such recklessness. The failure to maintain safety audits across the military fleet means that all our military aircraft suffer compromised airworthiness. The extent varies from critical to minor, but which fleet is which? You may rail against doomsayers such as I, but instead of shooting messengers a more fruitful course of action would be to demand that UK Military Airworthiness Authority be removed forthwith into a separate and independent MAA. Likewise with an MAAIB to replace the inadequate and flawed standards of Military Accident Investigations by BoIs.