Leon
Indeed, but if one studies the timelines, it is clear that the requirement for continuous feedback and review was not satisfied. Even then, why is the Duty Holder's review dated 2014, when the first thing the MAA would have done in April 2010 was to demand that IPTs demonstrate their safety cases were valid? It is not just the gliders that seem to have passed this test - the Mk10 ejection seat comes to mind.
The "pause" (grounding) has lasted 31 months and counting. The capability no longer exists yet, as we have seen, MoD continues to advertise gliding to entice new ATC members. The only difference between this and Nimrod is that
PR lessons have been learned, and the JCBs have not been sent in. Some gliders are to be made airworthy, and then apparently sold off. Easier to spin to the media.
I should make it clear that I don't know how long the Duty Holder who signed this in April 2014 had been in post. He did the right thing, but the detailed timeline of events would be interesting. What prompted him? On the face of it, it is likely that MoD has knowingly flown civilian minors in unairworthy aircraft for some years. Good (or slightly better) practice now does not forgive that maladministration, and it is by the Grace of God we are not talking of more deaths. The cost of doing it properly would have been peanuts - and that applies to all the examples we discuss here.