BAe Nimrod

The aircraft departed at 13:43 for a mission over Afghanistan, in support of coalition forces engaging the Taliban. At 15:30 the airplane rendezvoused with an RAF Lockheed TriStar tanker and received fuel in an air-to-air refuelling procedure that lasted 10 minutes. Air-to-air refuelling appeared to pass without incident and XV230's crew prepared to turn east, towards their operational area. Eleven minutes later a bomb bay fire warning, either coincident with, or followed immediately by, an elevator bay underfloor smoke warning, was reported. The crew also reported smoke entering the aircraft’s cabin, from both elevator and aileron bays. Within a minute the aircraft depressurised as the fire breached the aircraft’s pressure hull requiring the crew to don their oxygen masks. The captain began to turn the aircraft towards Kandahar, declared a MAYDAY and began a descent. Meanwhile a crew member reported a fire 'from the rear of the starboard engines'. Another crew member reported a fire within the aileron bay. Last radio contact was at 15:46 when the crew acknowledged the Kandahar weather for landing. About the same time, a Harrier GR7 pilot, who was several thousand feet above, reported an intense fire close to the starboard fuselage and stretching out between where the wing joins the aircraft fuselage to the starboard engine; there was a second fire that stretched behind the aircraft from a point on the side of the rear body of the aircraft. At 15:47 the Harrier pilot reported that he saw the Nimrod explode. It broke into 4 sections, at a height of between 750 feet and 1000 feet. All 14 crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Gary Wayne Andrews,
F/Sgt Stephen Beattie,
F/Sgt Gerard Martin Bell,
F/Sgt Adrian Davies,
L/Cpl Oliver Simon Dicketts,
F/Lt Steven Johnson,
Sgt Benjamin James Knight,
F/Lt Leigh Anthony Mitchelmore,
F/Lt Gareth Rodney Nicholas,
Sgt John Joseph Langton,
Sgt Gary Paul Quilliam,
F/Lt Allan James Squires,
F/Lt Steven Swarbrick,
Mne Joseph David Windall.

The Nimrod display aircraft and crew had deployed to Canada on 23 August 1995 for displays at Canadian Forces Base Shearwater and the Canadian International Air Show (CIAS) at Toronto. In excellent weather, with a light on-shore wind, the aircraft took off on time for its display. Upon completion of the safety checks, it ran in for the standard Nimrod display sequence which features two orbits and two dumb-bell turns. The latter manoeuvres each involved a turn away from the display line, a climb to not above 1,000 feet, followed by a turn in the opposite direction and descent, to fly back parallel with the display line. Having completed the two orbits, the first dumb-bell turn was completed uneventfully. After a slow flypast with undercarriage down, the aircraft entered its final manoeuvre, the second dumb-bell turn. It was seen to turn away approximately 75° to starboard under full power before the flaps were retracted to 20° and the undercarriage raised. The nose was then pitched up into a climbing attitude of 24°. As the aircraft passed 950 feet, engine power was reduced to almost flight idle, following which the speed reduced rapidly to 122 knots, below the 150 knots recommended and taught for that stage of the display. The aircraft was rolled to 70° of port bank, shortly afterwards reducing to 45°, and the nose lowered to 5° below the horizon. During this turn the airspeed increased slightly and the G-loading increased to 1 .6 G. However, the combination of the low airspeed and the G-loading led the aircraft to stall, whereupon the port wing dropped to 85° of bank and the nose dropped to 18° below the horizon. Full starboard aileron and full engine power were applied in an attempt to recover the aircraft but, by this stage, there was insufficient height to recover and the aircraft hit the water. All seven crew members were killed.

The aircraft was one of three Nimrod reconnaissance variants and had just undergone a major servicing at the Nimrod Major Servicing Unit (NMSU), RAF Kinloss by RAF maintenance personnel. Nimrod XW666 departed on a routine post-servicing airtest. After approximately 35 minutes of flight, following a test of the aircraft's anti-icing system, the No 4 engine fire warning illuminated. Whilst the crew were carrying out the fire drill, the No 3 engine fire warning also illuminated. A rear crew member confirmed that the aircraft was on fire and advised the captain that panels were falling away from the starboard wing. After two explosions, the captain feared for the structural integrity of the aircraft and decided to ditch before he lost control authority. Without the aid of flaps, which failed to operate because of a fire/associated hydraulic failure, he completed a controlled ditching into the Moray Firth. The aircraft bounced twice onto the sea before settling. The fuselage broke into two and the aircraft subsequently sank. Parts were salvaged and the cockpit section is now on display at AeroVenture South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum in Doncaster.

The Nimrod aircraft took off on an exercise Search and Rescue (SAR) sortie from its base at RAF St Mawgan. It was carrying in the bomb bay, as part of the SAR equipment, a normal load of 5 inch reconnaissance flares. In accordance with normal practice, the first navigator switched the flare's release units to live shortly after takeoff. Some 30 seconds later a cockpit indicator warned the crew of a fire in the bomb bay. The captain immediately instructed the co-pilot to fly the aircraft back to base while he transmitted a MAYDAY call and informed the rest of the crew. During the return flight ground witnesses saw the Nimrod trailing smoke, with several burning flares, a parachute and other objects falling from the aircraft. The aircraft landed safely. Although the fire services quickly extinguished the intense fire, the aircraft was extensively damaged.

Just before 07:30 a crew took off in semi-darkness on the final sortie of their conversion from the Nimrod 1 to the Nimrod MR2 aircraft. Being the final sortie, the normal crew was increased to 20 by 5 checking crew and an additional Air Engineer. The surface wind was 070 degrees at 02 kts, with 8 km visibility in rain and a main cloud base of 3000 ft. Engine response and indications during the takeoff run were normal, but shortly after takeoff, at an estimated height of 20 ft, the aircraft flew through a dense flock of Canada Geese flying in arrowhead formation between overnight roosting and daily feeding grounds. It suffered numerous bird-strikes. Almost simultaneously the no.1 engine surged violently, suffering a catastrophic internal failure. The low pressure compressors on the nos 2 and 3 engines were also damaged and, although they continued to run, they produced little thrust. Effectively the fully laden aircraft was being powered by only the No 4 engine which itself may have been damaged. Some 27 seconds after takeoff the aircraft came down on the relatively soft tree-tops of a forest of young pine trees 1300 yards from the end of the runway and was quickly engulfed in flames.
Source: ASN