The Secretary of
State for Defence, Bob Ainsworth, has today presented to
Parliament the independent review by Mr Charles Haddon-Cave QC
into the loss of Nimrod MR2 XV230 on 2 September 2006, in which 14
service personnel lost their lives.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said:
“My thoughts and condolences remain at this difficult time with
the families of the 14 service personnel who tragically lost their
lives in this incident. On behalf of the MoD and the RAF I again
apologise to all those involved for the mistakes that were made.
“I am grateful for the rigorous review that Mr Haddon-Cave QC and
his team have undertaken. He has identified key areas where we
have failed in our duty, and he has made a number of
recommendations which we will consider as a matter of high
priority. We will examine all aspects of the report closely before
we issue a full response. We begin this immediately but it is
vital to do this thoroughly in order to ensure our actions are
appropriate and robust.
“Mr Haddon-Cave has acknowledged that considerable work has been
done since this tragic incident to increase the safety of Nimrod
MR2, such as ceasing air-to-air refuelling and operating an
enhanced systems inspection regime. Based on the steps we have
taken, and the personal assurances of the Chief of the Air Staff,
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, I am certain the Nimrod
remains safe to fly, and I am pleased Mr Haddon-Cave shares this view.
“However we are not complacent and I am very clear that the
issues raised in this report stretch more widely across Defence.
Safety issues and improving our learning from incidents have been
given the highest priority in the MoD. We have looked carefully at
our processes for assuring the airworthiness of our aircraft, and
have appointed Air Marshall Kevin Leeson to a new post of Defence
Chief Airworthiness Engineer to provide better assurance that our
entire airworthiness process - from project teams to the front
line - meets the highest standard.
“I wish to mirror Mr Haddon-Cave’s tribute to the Nimrod crews
for their continual skill and professionalism. The Nimrod
continues to have an essential role in the defence of the country
and their crews have performed to the highest standard in
difficult circumstances.”
The MoD intends to issue a full response to Mr Haddon-Cave’s
report before the Christmas recess.
Notes to Editors:
1. On 2 Sep 06 14 military personnel lost their lives in the
crash of Nimrod MR2 XV230 which was supporting operations in
Afghanistan at the time.
2. The service personnel killed in this tragedy were:
Royal
Air Force: Flight Lieutenant Al Squires; Flight Lieutenant Steve
Swarbrick; Flight Lieutenant Steve Johnson; Flight Lieutenant
Leigh Mitchelmore; Flight Lieutenant Gareth Nicholas; Flight
Sergeant Ady Davies; Flight Sergeant Steve Beattie; Sergeant Ben
Knight; Sergeant Gary Quilliam; Sergeant John Langton; Flight
Sergeant Gary Andrews; Flight Sergeant Gerard Bell.
Army:
Lance Corporal Oliver Dicketts.
Royal Marine: Marine Joseph Windall.
3. The Nimrod Review terms of reference were:
• to examine the arrangements for assuring the airworthiness and
safe operation of the Nimrod MR2 in the period from its
introduction in 1979 to the accident on 2 Sep 2006, including
hazard analysis, the safety case completed in 2005, maintenance
arrangements, and responses to any earlier incidents which might
have highlighted the risk and led to corrective action;
• to
assess where responsibility lies for any failures and what lessons
are to be learned;
• to assess more broadly the process for
completing safety cases, taking account of best practice in the
civilian and military world; and
• to make recommendations to
the Secretary of State as soon as practicable, if necessary by way
of interim reports.
4. For further information, please contact Paul Leat in the MoD
Press Office on 020 7218 3254.
Contacts:
Ministry of Defence
NDS.MOD@coi.gsi.gov.uk