Spy plane inquest to see Nimrod
The families of the 14 servicemen, including former Shropshire man Gerard Bell, who were killed when a Nimrod spy plane came down in Afghanistan were viewing an identical plane today. The families of the 14 servicemen, including former Shropshire man Gerard Bell, who were killed when a Nimrod spy plane came down in Afghanistan were viewing an identical plane today. The 37-year-old reconnaissance aircraft exploded in a ball of flames just minutes after undergoing air-to-air refuelling, near Kandahar, on September 2 2006, killing all on board. An inquest began today with a visit by the court, including the families of the victims, to RAF Brize Norton. Read the full story in today's Shropshire Star
The 37-year-old reconnaissance aircraft exploded in a ball of flames just minutes after undergoing air-to-air refuelling, near Kandahar, on September 2 2006, killing all on board.
An inquest began today with a visit by the court, including the families of the victims, to RAF Brize Norton.
They were due to view a Nimrod plane like the one their loved ones flew in and see the engine partially stripped down.
Among the crash victims was Flight Sergeant Bell, formerly of Brookside, Telford.
The court was not sitting today and the hearing, being presided over by Oxfordshire assistant deputy coroner Andrew Walker, will start in earnest tomorrow.
An RAF Board of Inquiry found that ageing components and a lack of modern fire suppressants were among the "contributory factors" which led to the accident.
The deaths of the servicemen was the heaviest loss of life to be suffered by British forces in a single incident since the Falklands War.
The board found that the most probable cause of the crash was an escape of fuel during the air-to-air refuelling either as a result of an overflow or a leakage from the aircraft's fuel system.
