"If an MoD employee, having responsibility for the safety of an aircraft, is formally advised that his actions or decisions WILL result in placing aircrew in immediate danger, and that person flatly REFUSES to make the aircraft safe, and instructs his subordinates likewise; then I'm afraid that is a conscious, quite deliberate act."
Nothing is ever quite so black and white.
How much immediate danger would be my question?
Is that danger justified by the need for the capability?
People have to make difficult decisions in the military.
Have you seen the estimate for the helicopter losses in the planning for Al Faw?
We still went ahead with that, and we would have lost a lot more than one Nimrods worth if the estimates had been right.
If losing a Nimrod every now and then is the price you pay for a capable military then that is a price worth paying.
Not because people did not make tragic mistakes, but because any system that can ensure there are no mistakes, ensures we cannot remain competetive in wartime.