Crash of the Nimrod XV230: a UK report blames the RAF and the industrialist

(BRUXELLES2) The crash of the Nimrod XV 230 in Afghanistan in September 2006 which had caused the death of 14 British soldiers would be due to serious internal and industrial malfunctions. The reconnaissance aircraft was on a support flight for NATO and Afghan forces engaged in Helmand province. It had exploded in flight, following a fuel leak in contact with the hot air. This is according to a new report produced by an independent personality, Charles Haddon-Cave. A report that must be welcomed, for its frankness. He implicates "the business culture (which) has surpassed the necessities of airworthiness". The accident "was avoidable".

business culture. The conclusion of the report is, indeed, pitiless: the Nimrod Safety Case was a dismal job from start to finish. It was ridden with errors. It missed the key dangers. Its production is a story of incompetence, complacency, and cynicism. The report calls into question an unshakeable belief in the security of the device. " The Nimrod Safety Case process was fatally undermined by a general malaise: a widespread assumption by those involved that the Nimrod was 'safe anyway' (because it had successfully flown for 30 years) and the task of drawing up the Safety Case became essentially a paperwork and 'tickbox'exercise.” About ten people - 5 from the Ministry of Defense (including two 4-star generals), 5 from the
manufacturers (BAE systems and QinetiQ) are thus considered to be directly responsible for the crash. But the report points
especially of the finger an industrial bankruptcy. " BAE Systems bears substantial responsibility for the failure of the Nimrod Safety Case. » The firm has thus "deliberately omitted to warn his client of the extent of the danger" and "only gave vague recommendations". Ditto for QinetiQ.

A fact widely commented on in the British press (see in particular The Independent). The Minister of Defense apologized to the families for the mistakes made. For download report. We have, no doubt, much to learn from the British in matters of independent investigation.

(NGV)

(photo credit: UK Royal Air Force)