Nimrod Safety Disgrace

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Nimrod MR2 - Nimrods grounded in safety scare...

It comes as no surprise that Nimrod MR2 Aircraft have been grounded on safety issues.

Team Mole reporters have been watching the situation with growing concerns for some time...

Aircrew members have revealed the growing number of safety issues that prevent the aircraft taking off on missions which could have life threatening consequences for those involved.

We have heard that Nimrod fuel leak problems are quite common, and are such that our American partners (?) are reluctant to have the Nimrods anywhere near their own aircraft when sharing bases on operations.

This is not the only problem, an even more frightening issue is the metal fatigue cracks that seem to be now quite common, with standard procedure being to drill a hole at the end of any cracks that are found to attempt to stop the spread of the problem - this "repair" is not always successful, as it seems that cracks often spread past the drilling point.

Team Mole reporting team also question the logic of our Government sending these aircrews to an uncertain future in Iraq and Afghanistan where the unmanned Predator Spy Planes are reported to be better equipped for the type of battlefield use involved.

But then, it is no surprise that our UK Government seem to have no real interest in the real life threatening situations that they create with their flawed policiies.

Some Nimrods have already been cleared, the MoD said
All UK military Nimrod MR2 aircraft have been grounded as a precautionary measure after a routine safety check uncovered a dent in a fuel pipe.

The decision was taken in the last 48 hours after checks on one aircraft, the Ministry of Defence has said. The fleet was grounded while the issue is investigated but some of the aircraft have already been cleared.

It said an inquiry into the crash of an RAF Kinloss-based MR2 in Afghanistan in September should not be pre-judged.

The 12 air force crew, a Royal Marine and a soldier were killed on 2 September when the MR2 came down near Kandahar after a reported technical fault.

The Nimrod was designed as a sea patrol and anti-submarine aircraft and entered service with the Royal Air Force in the UK over 30 years ago.

In the early 1980s some RAF Nimrods were upgraded from the original MR1 Comet based design to the MR2, the main roles of which are sea surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and support for search and rescue operations.

Nimrod MR2s fly mainly from RAF Kinloss in Scotland, although a programme to replace them with an up-dated version - the MRA4 - is under way.

The programme information for the revised aircraft can be found at the airforce-technology website but it remains to be seen if the current aircraft can continue in service with mounting problems before the replacements can be built:

http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/nimrod/