A COLBY woman, whose son was one of 14 servicemen killed in a Nimrod crash in Afghanistan, has spoken of the trauma of attending the inquest into his death.
Last week assistant deputy coroner for Oxford Andrew Walker said the Ministry of Defence should ground all Nimrod aircraft and criticised the ministry's 'cavalier approach to safety'.
But the MoD has refused, insisting the fleet is safe.
Anne Squires – whose son Flight Lieutenant Allan Squires was the aircraft's pilot – said her family's fear was now for the crews still having to fly the Nimrod fleet.
Mrs Squires, who spent three weeks at the inquest in Oxford with her husband Brian and daughter Sarah Morton, of Port St Mary, said: 'The coroner started by saying "I will never forget the crew's last words as they calmly dealt with the fire on their aircraft with every intention that they should land safely, having diverted to Kandahar Airport".
'They were all true professionals to the very last and we, along with all the other family members, are proud. To us, they are and always will be heroes.
'The coroner also stated that "their deaths were, in part, the result of failures, some of them serious" and spoke of the MoD's "cavalier approach to safety" which has been very apparent during the three weeks we have spent in Oxford at the inquest.
'Our heartfelt thanks go out to Andrew Walker, the coroner, for the fearless and impartial manner in which he conducted this inquest and the respect that he showed to the families.
'It has been a traumatic period for all of us and so futile considering the MoD's reaction.
'Our concern now is for the crews still having to fly this aircraft.'
Delivering his verdict, Mr Walker said opportunities to spot inherent dangers on the ageing plane were missed.
He said a design fault which led to it exploding just minutes after undergoing air-to-air refuelling went unnoticed.
Mr Walker recorded narrative verdicts on the deaths of the 14 personnel killed in the explosion near Kandahar on September 2, 2006.
The Squireses have described Allan, who lived with Adele and their children, Abbie and Graeme, in Nairn, Scotland, as a man who lived for flying. He was 39 when he was killed.
The families of the victims, who had sat in court throughout the three-week hearing, heard the disaster was caused by fuel leaking into a dry bay and igniting on contact with a hot air pipe.
>> Nimrod crash: Widow blames MoD in report12 December 2007