Mick Strigg:
Chug,
If you do away with Military Air Accident Investigation, who would do it? The AAIB refuse to go to Theatre!
Yes, I'm aware of that, Mick. I don't pretend that a solution will come easily, but come it must. I have suggested elsewhere that the AAIB be made up of two parts, civil and military. Likewise there would be a CAA and MAA for Airworthiness Regulation. Both the MAAIB and the MAA would have to be able to deploy to wherever the Armed Forces do and yet be separate from and independent of the MOD. There are other civilian support arms (Defence Fire Services etc) under the MOD that already deploy. It must be possible to come to some arrangement whereby that could happen but outside of the MOD. As I say I don't know how, but aviation is unforgiving of anything other than a detached professional approach. I submit that in both Military Air Accident Investigation and Airworthiness Regulation we have been woefully deprived of that by the RAF and the MOD respectively.
flash8, others will know better, but I understand that the Royal Navy still retains trained air accident investigators for work in theatre.