The families of service personnel killed when a Nimrod aircraft from RAF Kinloss crashed in
Afghanistan have told the government the fleet should be grounded. Fourteen men died when the
aircraft exploded in September 2006.
An official investigation blamed the tragedy on a fuel leak. Earlier this
year, a coroner said the planes should be grounded immediately, but the Ministry of Defence has so
far have rejected the recommendations.
It was the military's biggest single loss of life since the Falklands War. Fourteen men
died when their Nimrod spy plane burst into flames over Kandahar in September 2006. Among the
victims were 12 members of the 120 squadron, based at RAF Kinloss.
At an inquest earlier this year, the coroner ruled that a serious design flaw in the ageing
aircraft meant the entire Nimrod fleet was unsafe to fly and it never had been airworthy. However,
the government insists they have now made significant changes to the planes and the Nimrod aircraft
continue to operate as normal.
