The RAF Nimrod aircraft that exploded in mid-air over Afghanistan killing all 14 servicemen on board was “beyond its sell-by date”, a former senior air force commander admitted at an inquest yesterday.

Wing Commander John Bromehead, the officer commanding Logistics Support Wing at RAF Kinloss, home of the Nimrods, at the time of the crash in September 2006, believed the accident was caused by leaking fuel igniting on a hot air pipe. The 37-year-old surveillance aircraft burst into flames at 3,000ft.

He told the Oxford hearing: “The bathtub curve is a general engineering principle, that is when something gets old it is more likely to break. I did have concerns that the Nimrod may be hitting the far end of the bathtub curve.” Wing Commander Bromehead revealed that in recent years there had been “a dilution of skills and experience” among RAF engineers, which made it more likely that problems with aircraft could be missed.

Continual cost-cutting and management restructuring had created “turmoil” in the RAF, which was why he had decided to leave the air force.

He had not been told in the months before the crash of a rise in fuel leaks on Nimrods, which he admitted was a “really serious failure”. However, he said that when leaks occurred, they were not always repaired. They were dealt with according to severity, with engineers ensuring that they were within “prescribed limits”.

When the board of inquiry report was published in December, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, apologised to the families of the victims for the shortcomings that led to the crash.

Ten of the victims were serving with the RAF, one was from the Parachute Regiment and the other was a Royal Marine. The inquest was adjourned until Monday.

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