2006 Royal Air Force Nimrod crash

Airplane crash over Afghanistan August 2019 2006 Royal Air Force Nimrod crash Nimrod Waddington 2005 2.jpg XV230 at the Waddington Airshow, July 2005 yes 2006 9 2 On board fire following aerial refuelling Accident Chalaghor in the Panjwaye District of Kandahar, Afghanistan 14 Nimrod MR2 Royal Air Force XV230 14 14 0 On 2 September 2006, a Royal Air Force Hawker Siddeley Nimrod suffered an in-flight fire and subsequently crashed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing all fourteen crew members on board. The crash, which occurred during a reconnaissance flight, was the biggest single loss of life suffered by the British military since the Falklands War. Aircraft The aircraft involved in the accident was XV230, the first of 38 Nimrod maritime reconnaissance/strike aircraft to enter operational service with the Royal Air Force on 2 October 1969. Hawker Siddeley HS.801 Nimrod MR1 http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1970/1970%20-%200153.html Flight Global Archive 28 July 2009 RAF Kinloss – Nimrod – Through The Years https://web.archive.org/web/20070714005640/http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafkinloss/aboutus/nimrodthroughtheyears.cfm 14 July 2007 At a ceremony held at Woodford airfield in Cheshire, the aircraft was handed over by the deputy managing director of Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Sir Harry Broadhurst. Receiving XV230 was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Coastal Command, Air Marshal Sir John Lapsley. At Broadhurst's invitation, Lady Lapsley performed the naming ceremony. Later in the day a RAF crew flew XV230 to its base at RAF St Mawgan, Cornwall, where the Nimrod maritime operational training unit (MOTU) was to be formed.Four-jet Sub-hunter handover http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%202966.html Flight Global Archive 13 May 2015 Flight International 582 9 October 1969 3161 96 Digitised PDF According to Jane's Information Group, XV230 was one of six Nimrods equipped with an L-3 Wescam MX-15 electro-optical turret in 2003. In June/July 2006 XV230 was given the capability to transmit real-time video imagery from the MX-15 to ground stations and commanders. This was implemented under Project Broadsword.Crashed RAF Nimrod identified Jane's Defence Business News Crash details The aircraft is believed to have suffered a fuel leak or overflow during mid-air refuelling while it was monitoring Operation Medusa, a NATO offensive against Taliban insurgents west of Kandahar. The investigation found that fuel most probably travelled from a fuel tank blow-off valve on the starboard side of the lower-forward fuselage into an aft bay near the root of the starboard wing which contained hot air ducting pipes, where it saturated compressed insulation contained within a shrouding, holding the fuel against a hot air pipe until it reached auto-ignition temperature and caught fire. The fire was first noted when smoke accumulated in the bomb-bay, leading the pilot to report it. He tried to reach Kandahar air base, taking the aircraft down from 23000 to 3,000 ft m off in 90 seconds. An RAF Harrier GR7 aircraft followed the Nimrod down and the pilot saw a wing explode, followed a few seconds later by the rest of the aircraft.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1937063.ece https://web.archive.org/web/20110523142840/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1937063.ece dead 23 May 2011 Blast fears as Nimrod planes leak fuel on spy missions Michael Smith 17 June 2007 The Times 28 July 2009 London The crash site was about 25 mi off west-north-west of Kandahar Airfield (which is located 10 mi off south-east of the city of Kandahar) between two villages called Chil Khor and Fatehullah Qala in the Panjwaye District.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2340566,00.html https://web.archive.org/web/20080113064456/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2340566,00.html dead 13 January 2008 Biggest military loss since start of Afghan war is 'terrible accident' Michael Smith 3 September 2006 The Times 28 July 2009 London The twelve RAF personnel plus a Royal Marine and a British Army soldier aboard Nimrod MR2 XV230 were killed. A board of inquiry report was released in December 2007.December 5, 2007 UK Government: Publication of the Board of Inquiry (BOI) Report into the loss of Nimrod XV230 M2 PressWIRE M2 Communications Ltd Client ref 289/2007. GNN ref 154918P. Factiva MTPW000020071205e3c40025v. Nexis Uni 4R97-RNG0-TWNM-90GR-00000-00. 444605842. UK Government Controversy There had been concerns in the British media about serviceability of the Nimrod fleethttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1687498.ece https://web.archive.org/web/20110523230217/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1687498.ece dead 23 May 2011 The Times London MoD accused of costcutting on crash plane Michael Smith 22 April 2007 22 May 2010 and bereaved families having to wait for years for the Oxfordshire coroner's office to hold inquests into military deaths.Adams, Stephen (23 August 2007) Attacks on 'appalling' wait for inquests Telegraph, Accessed 25 March 2015 Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger called for the MR2's replacement – the BAE MRA4 – to be introduced sooner.Dan Sales http://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/news/bmnewsbridgwater/display.var.1582433.0.air_hero_dad_and_mp_call_for_nimrod_replacements.php Air hero's dad and MP call for Nimrod replacements 23 July 2007 28 July 2009 That aircraft suffered significant problems during development and construction which resulted in lengthy programme delays and the in-service date slipping nine years from 2003 to 2012.http://www.spyflight.co.uk/MR4A.htm BAe Nimrod MRA4 26 August 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070921053932/http://www.spyflight.co.uk/MR4A.htm 21 September 2007 dead Hansard (House of Commons Daily Debates) https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070723/text/70723w0009.htm#07072411000969 Nimrod Aircraft 23 July 2007 28 July 2009 The MR4 replacement aircraft was cancelled entirely following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.David Maddox http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/RAF-Kinloss-Scrapped-replacement-.6633252.jp RAF Kinloss: Scrapped replacement for Nimrod 'largely completed' scotsman.com 20 November 2010 Concerns were again raised when on 5 November 2007, Nimrod XV235 was reported to have suffered a similar fuel leak. The aircraft landed safely. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) then suspended all in-flight refuelling of the Nimrod fleet. The Scottish National Party's Westminster leader, Angus Robertson, criticised delays in inquiries. He said the wait for the MoD inquiry and a coroner's inquest was a "disgrace" that dates have still to be set for the publication of the board of inquiry's findings and a coroner's inquest into the deaths. He was also quoted as saying "Everybody's thoughts are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives. They are having to wait far too long to receive answers to many questions. A 12-month wait is a disgrace – Publication dates have been put back and put back and the Ministry of Defence should get on with it." John Ross http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1391572007 Nimrod inquiry delays under fire 1 September 2007 28 July 2009 Edinburgh The Scotsman In March 2009, following continued questions about the safety of the Nimrod fleet and despite constantly stating that the aircraft were airworthy, the MoD grounded the Nimrod fleet for "vital safety modification[s]". Engine bay hot air ducts and fuel seals were to be replaced.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7932791.stm 9 March 2009 Nimrod aircraft grounded by MoD BBC News 27 March 2010 There are those who opine that the loss was a foreseeable consequence of design and production failures. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/nimrod-losses-xv230.htm Nimrod Losses – XV230 Globalsecurity.org 9 September 2012 Concerns about the safety of the Nimrod fleet continued to surface after the loss of XV230. In April 2009 it was reported that the Defence Minister had "glossed over Nimrod safety fears".Andrew Johnson https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/defence-minister-glossed-over-nimrod-safety-fears-1674390.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/defence-minister-glossed-over-nimrod-safety-fears-1674390.html 1 May 2022 subscription Defence minister glossed over Nimrod safety fears 26 April 2009 The Independent London 27 March 2010 The Independent newspaper claimed that a report into the safety of Britain's ageing fleet of Nimrods, which a defence minister claimed did not reveal "any significant airworthiness issues", exposed almost 1,500 faults – 26 of which threatened the aircraft's safety. Board of Inquiry findings On 4 December 2007 the report of the findings of the official Board of Inquiry into the loss of XV230 was published. The Board believed that the No 7 tank dry bay was the most likely location for the seat of the fire, with the most probable cause being escaped fuel having come into contact with a Supplementary Conditioning Pack (SCP) airpipe at 400 degrees Celsius "...after entering a gap between two types of insulation". Four separate factors were listed as contributing to the accident: https://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/04_12_07nimrod.pdf BBC News 2007-12-04 Final enclosures press pack 4 December 2007 28 July 2009 Age of the aircraft; Maintenance policy; Failure of hazard analysis and lack of a fire detection and suppression system; Not identifying the full implications of successive changes to the fuel system and associated procedures.Burns, John F., "Cost Cuts Led to British Jet Crash, Study Says", The New York Times, 28 October 2009. A link to the full report on the XV230 accident can be found here.http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/BoardsOfInquiry/BoiNimrodMr2Xv230.htm XV230 Board of Inquiry Findings Royal Air Force 28 July 2009 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090807195756/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/BoardsOfInquiry/BoiNimrodMr2Xv230.htm 7 August 2009 On 23 May 2008, the assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire, Andrew Walker, handed down a narrative ruling, stating that the entire Nimrod fleet had "never been airworthy from the first time it was released to the service nearly 40 years ago... It seems to me that this is a case where I would be failing in my duty if I didn't report action to the relevant authority that would prevent future fatalities... I have given the matter considerable thought and I see no alternative but to report to the secretary of state that the Nimrod fleet should not fly until the ALARP [as low as reasonably practicable] standards are met.", urging that the Nimrod fleet be grounded."Nimrod inquest coroner declares whole fleet 'never airworthy' " The Guardian. 23 May 2008. Retrieved on 24 May 2008 He further added: "This cavalier approach to safety must come to an end. There were failures...[in monitoring the aircraft's safety]...that should, if the information had been correctly recorded and acted upon, have led to the discovery of this design flaw within the Nimrod fleet."http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7416627.stm BBC News Nimrod fleet 'should be grounded' 23 May 2008 28 July 2009 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080526020807/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7416627.stm 26 May 2008 Nimrod Review Nimrod MR1 XV230 cutaway and weapon loadout right http://www.flightglobal.com/airspace/photos/militaryaviation1946-2006cutaways/images/11662/hawker-siddeley-nimrod-mr1-cutaway.jpg An old 1970's cutaway of Nimrod MR1 XV230 retouched by Flight Global in 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20121020183947/http://www.flightglobal.com/airspace/media/militaryaviation1946-2006cutaways/images/11662/hawker-siddeley-nimrod-mr1-cutaway.jpg Flight Global 2006 20 October 2012 John Marsden The Terms of Reference for the Nimrod Review were set out by the Secretary of State for Defence, Des Browne, on 13 December 2007.Nimrod Review http://www.nimrod-review.org.uk/ 1 November 2009 It emerged in May 2009 that a RAF commander destroyed a number of official documents after the loss of Nimrod XV230. The Times newspaper,Smith Michael 31 May 2009 RAF Commander admits to shredding spy plane documents https://www.thetimes.com/article/a074510e-19df-4dae-b5f9-d8c98dfcc34b 25 November 2024 The Sunday Times London 31 May 2009, reported that all documents relating to the aircraft were immediately impounded but Sqn Ldr Guy Bazalgette, commander of the Nimrod detachment in the Gulf, managed to retrieve one file. Bazalgette subsequently destroyed the document but later told the coroners inquest that none of the shredded documents were relevant to the loss of XV230. However, Bazalgette admitted: "They should not have been shredded and it was my fault that they were." Also in May 2009, Charles Haddon-Cave, QC, leading the Nimrod Review issued a number of Salmon letters to organisations and senior RAF officers warning them they were likely to be criticised in its formal report. The so-called Salmon letters give those who are likely to be criticised by the inquiry the opportunity to respond to the criticism before the report's publication. The MoD and the Nimrod inquiry team declined to say which senior RAF officers received letters. On 28 October 2009, Haddon-Cave presented his report,Haddon-Cave Charles 28 October 2009 The Nimrod Review: an independent review into the broader issues surrounding the loss of the RAF Nimrod MR2 aircraft XV230 in Afghanistan in 2006 London The Stationery Office HC 1025 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nimrod-review 6 October 2026 summarised in several short statements, like: Summary No. 9: The Nimrod Safety Case represented the best opportunity to capture the serious design flaws in the Nimrod which had lain dormant for years. If the Nimrod Safety Case had been drawn up with proper skill, care and attention, the catastrophic fire risks to the Nimrod MR2 fleet presented by the Cross-Feed/SCP duct and the Air-to-Air Refuelling modification would have been identified and dealt with, and the loss of XV230 in September 2006 would have been avoided. Summary No. 10: Unfortunately, the Nimrod Safety Case [produced by BAE Systems] was a lamentable job from start to finish. It was riddled with errors. It missed the key dangers. Its production is a story of incompetence, complacency, and cynicism. The best opportunity to prevent the accident to XV230 was, tragically, lost. The report: Accused the MoD of "deep organisational trauma" resulting from the strategic defence review of 1998. Sacrificing safety to cut costs, resulting in a "systemic breach" of the military covenant. A safety review of the Nimrod MR2 carried out by the MoD, BAE Systems and QinetiQ was deemed a "lamentable job". Haddon-Cave condemned the change of organisational culture within the MoD between 1998 and 2006, when financial targets came to distract from safety, quoting a former senior RAF officer who told the inquiry: There was no doubt that the culture of the time had switched. In the days of the RAF chief engineer in the 1990s, you had to be on top of airworthiness. By 2004 you had to be on top of your budget if you wanted to get ahead. Haddon-Cave directly criticised 10 individuals in the report – five at the MoD, three at BAE Systems and two at QinetiQ – while throughout the review BAE Systems had been a company "in denial." Haddon-Cave's report directly criticised two RAF officers: Air Commodore George Baber – a group captain at the time, led the MoD integrated project team responsible for a safety review of the RAF's Nimrods, which took place between 2001 and 2005. Haddon-Cave accused Baber of a "fundamental failure of leadership" in drawing up the "safety case" into potential dangers in the fleet: "He failed to give the NSC (Nimrod safety case) the priority it deserved. In doing so, he failed, in truth, to make safety his first priority." Wing Commander Michael Eagles – then head of air vehicle for the Nimrod, Wing Cdr Eagles was supposed to be in charge of managing production of the safety review. The report found that he delegated the project "wholesale" to an MoD civilian worker who was too inexperienced and not competent to manage it: "Michael Eagles failed to give adequate priority, care and personal attention to the NSC task. He failed properly to utilise the resources available to him within the Nimrod IPT to ensure the airworthiness of the Nimrod fleet." Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said the "rigorous" report would make distressing reading for the relatives of those who died. On behalf of the MoD and the Royal Air Force, I would like again to say sorry to all the families who lost loved ones. I am sorry for the mistakes that have been made and the lives that have been lost as a result of our failure. Nothing I can say or do will bring these men back. Legal proceedings In December 2008 the Defence Secretary John Hutton was served with a writ by relatives of two of 14 men who died.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7797582.stm BBC News Nimrod victims' families sue MoD 23 December 2008 27 March 2010 In March 2009 in response to the writ, the Ministry of Defence admitted responsibility for the deaths of the 14 servicemen aboard Nimrod aircraft XV230, after two families brought a landmark legal action using human rights law. High Court papers submitted by the MoD in response to the claim accept for the first time that the Nimrod was "not airworthy". The papers added: "The defendant owed to the deceased a duty of care and the accident was caused by this breach of that duty of care."https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/5071466/MoD-admits-responsibility-for-Afghanistan-Nimrod-explosion-deaths.html https://web.archive.org/web/20100807091912/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/5071466/MoD-admits-responsibility-for-Afghanistan-Nimrod-explosion-deaths.html dead 7 August 2010 The Daily Telegraph London MoD admits responsibility for Afghanistan Nimrod explosion deaths John Bingham 30 March 2009 27 March 2010 References 30em External links Post crash photograph of the tail section of XV230 NIM,_vicinity_Kandahar_Afghanistan,_2006_(AW_FIRE_LOC) Airworthiness / Fire / Loss of Control released 1 November 2009 Haddon-Cave Charles http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0809/hc10/1025/1025.asp The Nimrod Review: An independent review into the broader issues surrounding the loss of the RAF Nimrod MR2 Aircraft XV230 in Afghanistan in 2006 : The Loss of RAF Nimrod XV230: A Failure of Leadership, Culture and Priorities 28 October 2009 The Stationery Office 9780102962659 London Report; Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons HC 1025. ID P002325264 10/2009 476. Summary of the BOI into the crash of XV230 on 2 September 2006 from Target Lock website "Ainsworth apologises for loss of Nimrod XV230", highlights of Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth's statement in the House of Commons, released by UK Ministry of Defence 28 October 2009 Pre-accident pictures of the aircraft BBC news Scotland East Fourteen personnel in Afghanistan Nimrod crash named 20060902-0 Nimrod Crew Repatriated to RAF Kinloss Sky News reportDecember 2016 InternetArchiveBot yes On a Wing and a Prayer A BBC Panorama investigation shown Monday 4 June 2007. Q&A: Nimrod MR2 explosion https://web.archive.org/web/20071205103152/http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/qa+nimrod+mr2+explosion/1139257 5 December 2007 Channel 4 news – 4 December 2007. Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2006 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Afghanistan Category:2006 in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Category:Accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft Category:September 2006 in Afghanistan Category:Aviation accidents and incidents caused by in-flight fires Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod