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Friday, October 26, 2007

Leaked emails have revealed that the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) were aware of a dangerous problem with fuel leaking from Nimrod MR2 surveillance aircraft long before one exploded in midair during a mission in Kandahar, Afghanistan. All 14 people on board were killed in the crash in September last year.

Graham Knight, father of Sergeant Ben Knight, who died in the accident aged 25, told reporters that he had received internal RAF emails detailing prior concerns about the fuel leak problems on the Nimrod. One email originally sent on December 2, 2005 commented that “XV230 [the tail number of the Nimrod that would go on to crash] has fuel-leak issues which need to be rectified before the aircraft can be deployed.” Another, from February 2006, had the following to say: “The age of the airframe, combined with the aggressive tempo with which we are flying the jets in stark temperature shifts, is contributing to our leak headache.”

Another email later the same month highlighted the serious nature of the problem: “Fuel leaks on the Nimrod MR2 aircraft now pose a significant threat to the force being able to meet commitments and operational tasking.”

The emails were quietly forwarded to Knight, who has gone public with them via Sky News. “I have evidence that a fuel leak caused the crash and the Service was fully aware of the risk months beforehand. I believe the RAF killed my son,” he said.

He said that the emails were all written by senior members of the RAF, adding “there are so many people within the organisation who are not happy with what has been going on.”

“The more I have dug, the deeper the conspiracy gets – essentially, I think the major failures have been down to communication problems.”

A board of inquiry has recently completed deliberating the cause of the accident, with a final report expected in about two weeks time. It is expected by many that the report will find a fuel leak was to blame. The crash was the largest loss of life from any UK service in a single incident since the Falklands war. Although the report will determine the cause of the crash and make recommendations to prevent it’s recurrence, it will not attempt to establish blame for the disaster.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had previously admitted they were experiencing Nimrod fuel leaks, saying in January that in the six months proceeding there had been no less than 25 fuel leaks in RAF Nimrod aircraft. Nimrods were grounded after the crash, but were subsequently phased back into operation, and are currently back in full service flying regular reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan.

The MoD’s response to these recent allegations was as follows: “RAF Nimrod aircraft are designed and certified to strict airworthiness and safety standards.

“If we didn’t have confidence in the aircraft, we would not continue to fly them.

“Nimrod has a good safety record and remains a potent and respected aircraft.

“The Board of Inquiry to establish the cause of the accident last September is continuing and it would be unhelpful to speculate on the outcome until the board’s findings are published.”

All 12 of the crewmembers on board were from 102 Squadron at RAF Kinloss, Scotland. The loss was so large as in to have an adverse affect on the air base. The other two personnel on board were a marine and a solider.

“An aircraft should not suddenly burst into a ball of flames in mid-air,” Knight commented. He has been conducting his own investigation based on documentation obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. One important document is a recommendation made by BAE Systems in 2004 following a safety audit that concluded that it would be impossible to extinguish a fire on a Nimrod. The recommendation was to install a fire detection system. It was never acted upon.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton regained the IBF light welterweight title belt he relinquished less than 12 months ago when he defeated Juan Urango in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight.

“The Hitman” won by unanimous decision, as the fight went to 12 rounds. Despite early match odds suggesting Hatton would dominate the fight, this was not the case. Each round was close, but most pundits and judges alike agreed that Urango only won 1 of the 12 rounds, with Hatton taking the other 11.

Despite the unfamiliar confines of Las Vegas, Hatton looked touched by the ringing of football fan-like chants, familiar in British boxing, that rang around the arena, as more than half of it was filled by traveling support from across the atlantic.

Many in the UK will hope Hatton has ended the “curse” that has seen names such as Frank Bruno, Naseem Hamed, Barry McGuigan and others fall short while headlining fights on “The Strip”.

From here, it is widely believed “The Hitman” will move on to fight Jose Luis Castillo in June, again likely in Vegas.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Sweden’s first royal wedding since 1976 took place Saturday when Crown Princess Victoria, 32, married her long-time boyfriend and former personal trainer, Daniel Westling, 36. The ceremony took place at Stockholm Cathedral.

Over 1,200 guests, including many rulers, politicians, royals and other dignitaries from across the world, attended the wedding, which cost an estimated 20 million Swedish kronor. Victoria wore a wedding dress with five-metre long train designed by Pär Engsheden. She wore the same crown that her mother, Queen Silvia, wore on her wedding day 34 years previously, also on June 19. Victoria’s father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, walked Victoria down the aisle, which was deemed untraditional by many. In Sweden, the bride and groom usually walk down the aisle together, emphasising the country’s views on equality. Victoria met with Daniel half-way to the altar, where they exchanged brief kisses, and, to the sounds of the wedding march, made their way to the the silver altar. She was followed by ten bridesmaids. The couple both had tears in their eyes as they said their vows, and apart from fumbling when they exchanged rings, the ceremony went smoothly.

Following the ceremony, the couple headed a fast-paced procession through central Stockholm on a horse-drawn carriage, flanked by police and security. Up to 500,000 people are thought to have lined the streets. They then boarded the Vasaorden, the same royal barge Victoria’s parents used in their wedding, and traveled through Stockholm’s waters, accompanied by flyover of 18 fighter jets near the end of the procession. A wedding banquet followed in the in the Hall of State of the Royal Palace.

Controversy has surrounded the engagement and wedding between the Crown Princess and Westling, a “commoner”. Victoria met Westling as she was recovering from bulemia in 2002. He owned a chain of gymnasiums and was brought in to help bring Victoria back to full health. Westling was raised in a middle-class family in Ockelbo, in central Sweden. His father managed a social services centre, and his mother worked in a post office. When the relationship was made public, Westling was mocked as an outsider and the king was reportedly horrified at the thought of his daughter marrying a “commoner”, even though he did so when he married Silvia. Last year, Westling underwent transplant surgery for a congenital kidney disorder. The Swedish public have been assured that he will be able to have children and that his illness will not be passed on to his offspring.

Westling underwent years of training to prepare for his new role in the royal family, including lessons in etiquette, elocution, and multi-lingual small talk; and a makeover that saw his hair being cropped short, and his plain-looking glasses and clothes being replaced by designer-wear.

Upon marrying the Crown Princess, Westling took his wife’s ducal title and is granted the style “His Royal Highness”. He is now known as HRH Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. He also has his own coat-of-arms and monogram. When Victoria assumes the throne and becomes Queen, Daniel will not become King, but assume a supportive role, similar to that of Prince Phillip, the husband of the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

The surviving members of satirical metal band GWAR yesterday announced a charitable arts foundation in the name of Dave Brockie. Brockie, 50, died last month.

Founding frontman and singer Brockie spent 30 years leading “Earth’s only openly extra-terrestrial rock band”, which actually hailed from Richmond, Virginia. Their obscene lyrics and theatrical live shows brought fame to Brockie, who went by stage name Oderus Urungus, and the fellow Virginia Commonwealth University art students that made up the band.

GWAR unveiled the foundation in a video statement yesterday. Amongst the stated aims are providing support to artists who cannot acquire funds via traditional routes and “the advancement of music, images, letters and performances in the arts”. The foundation is also to preserve Brockie’s body of work and promote his legacy.

“We would like to thank fans and friends for their outpouring of love”, the band said.

A public memorial for Brockie is scheduled for August 15, and the annual GWAR-B-Q is to go ahead the next day. Drawing a line between the stage persona and the man who played it, the band add “Just face it — Oderus would order you to be present and pay tribute to Dave Murray Brockie, his own personal slave!”

Donations can be made at the GWAR-B-Q and via GWAR’s website. The rubber-costumed band remains to publicly decide if they will continue to perform and record. They say the foundation’s first task will be to fund and erect a monument “to provide the world with a place to pay respects to the memory of a very cherished man”.