Thankfully nobody was injured but the aircraft was destroyed
in the blaze. Protesters, however, say it shouldn't have been
in Afghanistan without the appropriate safety measures.
Former RAF pilot Nigel Gilbert said he warned lessons should
have been learned after the Hercules
tragedy in Iraq in January 2005, which killed ten men.
Mr Gilbert, who maintains the lost Hercules would have been
capable of surviving the enemy fire that brought it down had
it been fitted with the foam retardant, said: "How many
more times do we have to say this? How many more Hercules
do we have to lose?
"This time they were very lucky to get out alive but
it's brought the issue sharply back into focus. We are trying
to protect the guys but in reality, they shouldn't be out
there without foam retardant." Mr Gilbert is calling
for the anti explosion protection system to be fitted to all
Hercules.
Sarah Chapman, the sister of Bob
O'Connor who perished in last year's Hercules crash, said
hearing what happened last week bought the trauma back. "It
was an emotional day for me as I was so scared that the outcome
of the Hercules fire would be much worse than it was,"
she said.
"I am so thankful that the crew got out alive but I
expect they had the memory of XV179 going through their mind.
Nonetheless, we cannot rest as there is still the increased
risk that unless we get foam to all Hercules we will see this
happen again. "I have worked very hard to try and get
foam for all Hercules and will step up my fight now. I am
a nurse from Cambridge and it may be utter madness that it
takes a nurse to instigate this, but if the Government can't
do it after losing ten men then it will have to be shown that
we want it."
She has launched an online petition on the Military
Families Against War website, www.mfaw.org.uk,
and already has more than 1,200 signatures, including that
of Laura Brown, the daughter of Chief Technician Robert Brown,
who died in the Iraq crash.
She wrote: "There should be foam so no-one else has
to go through what I have. I am 11 and I lost my dad on XV179."
It is not yet known if the crew of 47 Squadron, which specialises
in putting SAS troopers into dangerous terrain, is back at
RAF Lyneham or still out in Afghanistan |
