Air-pipe failures add to spy plane safety fears

Concerns over the safety of the RAF’s Nimrod spy planes have increased after it emerged that hot-air pipes in the aircraft’s engines could fail at any time.

The pipes failed during “low pressure tests”, according to a report by the plane’s manufacturer, BAE Systems.

The company had warned previously that the pipes were close to fuel lines and that if they failed in the air they would be likely to start a fire, leading to a “catastrophic” incident.

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