Coroner says Nimrods not airworthy

By Peter Graff

LONDON (Reuters) - A coroner looking into the deaths of 14 British service members in an air crash in Afghanistan said the entire Royal Air Force fleet of Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft needed to be grounded because they were not airworthy.

But the Ministry of Defence said it would continue to fly the planes, a workhorse of the fleet for 40 years.

The entire Nimrod fleet "has never been airworthy from the first time it was released to the service", coroner Andrew Walker said. He said it should be grounded until a number of modifications were put in place to prevent fires and explosions.

Family members of the service members, killed when the plane exploded near Kandahar in Afghanistan in September 2006, said the fleet should be grounded immediately.

"The families call upon the government to confirm immediately that the recommendations have been accepted and that the fleet will be grounded without delay," a family spokesman said in a statement.

But Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth said the plane was still safe.

"I would like to reassure all those concerned that the Chief of the Air Staff has reaffirmed to me that the Nimrod is airworthy, and that we are dealing with all the issues raised by this incident," he said in a statement.

"I have noted the coroner's comments and I will consider them carefully. The Nimrod is saving lives in operational theatres every day. However, if it was not safe we would not be flying it; it is safe with the measures we have taken and that is why we will not be grounding the fleet," he said.