MANNIN: UNSAFE NIMROD STILL USING MANX AIRPORT

It is an accident waiting to happen as RAF Nimrod aircraft continue to use Ronaldsway aircraft on the Isle of Man for training purposes. One of the controversial aircraft was spotted using the commercial airport on Friday 15th of August.

Despite a clear warning from the assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire Andrew Walker who recommended that every aircraft in the fleet, based at RAF Kinloss in Forres, be grounded immediately until they are safe to fly, the Manx government prefer to accept MoD assurances about the aircraft's safety.

Mr Walker found (following an inquest into the deaths of 14 servicemen killed when a Nimrod reconnaissance plane exploded in mid-air in Afghanistan) that the plane suffered a serious design flaw which meant that it "has never been airworthy" since its release to service more than 30 years ago.

The Celtic League alerted the Islands Chief Minister to the safety concerns in May however despite confirmation by the MoD recently that the safety flaw which caused the Afghanistan crash was endemic to the Nimrod fleet the Manx government refuses to instate a ban on its use of Manx facilities.

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J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

18/08/08