Bismark:
MOD or RAF? The difference needs to be stated as I would not wish to see the RN or AAC coloured by this discussion - all the current issues appear to apply to the RAF rather than the others.
Ok, I'll bite, Mein Count. Which current issues are those? If you mean the subject accident of this thread, it is clearly an RAF one and subject to an RAF Inquiry. Discussion has opened out though to Airworthiness Provision by the UK Military Airworthiness Authority. Bad news old boy,
all UK Military Airworthiness come under its jurisdiction and it is of course that monstrous creation, the Ministry of Defence. As far as colouring the RN and the AAC goes, I'm sure that the RAF would join you in wishing to have that millstone lifted from all your necks. Ain't goin to happen though, so next best option is to get it reformed from top to bottom, and in particular to have Military Airworthiness removed to an independent and professional authority. Accident Investigation would seem to be a bone of contention, and given that the RN has retained Air Accident Inspectors and tried to keep Investigations apart from the CoC I can see their point. As has been suggested, could they not form the nucleus of a similarly independent and professional MAAIB? Not sure about the AAC Investigation process, anyone help? I'm sure that we all agree that every accident is bad, and a fatal one is tragic. Every lesson must be learned so that some good may emerge and perhaps an avoidable accident thus avoided. If there are Military Airworthiness aspects to this accident it is surely our duty, whatever colour our uniform, to investigate, learn from, and if necessary correct them. That has not been a pattern of some past RAF BoI's I fear. May this one prove to be the exception?