Unacceptable
Sqidlord,
You are right, of course. It is many moons since I read 00-56. It needs a rewrite.
As for unacceptable - it seems to me that advising the Secretary of State that it is safe to fly an aircraft that you have determined has a flawed design and that you have stated has been maintained and supported by a failed organisation is unacceptable. The Nimrod should be grounded immediately.
So should a number of other aircraft and if that means that we cannot impress the world with our contribution to the Afghanistan adventure with as much capability as we would like - tough. Ground the aircraft, hire some civil aircraft to supply the troops or bring them home and then sort out the air power bit - in that order.