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MP questions Nimrod aircraft safety |
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Tuesday, 05 June 2007 |
SNP MP Angus Robertson has raised a series of questions about the RAF’s fleet of Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft, which are based at RAF Kinloss in his constituency.
Robertson, who is also the Nationalist defence spokesperson at
Westminster, said the crash of a Nimrod in Afghanistan in September
last year, which saw the deaths of 14 service personnel, and a series
of serious mid-air incidents after refuelling, highlighted problems
with wiring systems in the aircraft.
Robertson said: "There are many unanswered questions relating to the
Nimrod crash and the fleet in general. Everybody is waiting for the
findings of the RAF Board of Inquiry into the crash in Afghanistan, but
there are also questions which the Ministry of Defence can answer now.
"One concern raised with me by Nimrod insiders relates to some of the
wiring systems. Hopefully the MOD can clarify the use of Kapton wiring
on Nimrod aircraft and explain why its use is acceptable on certain
military aircraft when it has been phased out by many civilian carriers.
"There are serious worries about the regularity of fuel leaks from
Nimrods. The overworking of the ageing fleet has been confirmed by
recent MOD statistics on exceeded planned flying hours and aircraft
parts regularly need to be swapped from one plane to another to keep
them airborne.
"This corresponds with the widespread concerns by the service community
at RAF Kinloss about the number of skilled staff who have recently
taken early retirement compounding a shortage of ground crew."
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 05 June 2007 )
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