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.

The new safety fears come a month after Des Browne, the defence secretary, apologised to the families of 14 servicemen killed when their Nimrod, XV230, caught fire over Afghanistan.

BAE’s report on the tests says 14 hot-air pipes it was sent to check already had cracks in them and eight were seriously corroded.

The report, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, does not appear to have been seen by the board of inquiry into the loss of Nimrod XV230, which published its damning report last month.

One of the hot-air pipes that was already cracked was part of the system on XV230. It was a junction pipe leading to the hot-air pipe that set fire to leaking fuel. This caused the explosion that destroyed the plane.

Jimmy Jones, a former RAF Nimrod engineering officer, said it was “extremely unlikely” the board would not have mentioned a crack in this area if it had known about it.

The board’s report also refers to the BAE pipe tests as if they are continuing, when in fact BAE’s findings were published last February, months before the inquiry came to an end.

Leaks in pipes from engines are worrying as most fuel leaks on the Nimrod are from the wing tanks around the engines.

“It is highly questionable as to whether Nimrod should now be flying with potentially hot air leaks in the wing tank areas,” Jones said.

The Ministry of Defence said it did not want to preempt an inquiry into the safety of the Nimrod fleet, but some hot-air piping had been isolated.

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