Outside the Cockpit
Olive Oil,
So you KNOW it was serviceable - please tell us how you know this.
Using your simple argument who do you see as carrying the responsibility for the failure to fit ESF to the Hercules, or the Nimrod at Kandahar - the crew or someone ouside the cockpit responsible for airworthiness - after all the Nimrod fleet had flown many 10's of 1000's of hours.
JB