Fresh safety fears have been raised about RAF Lossiemouth’s Tornado jets after it emerged that the aircraft have been in more than 350 near-misses in recent years.
Ministry of Defence statistics revealed there have been an average of 23 incidents every year in which a Tornado pilot or ground controller feared a plane’s safety was compromised.
There have been 13 of the “airprox” cases so far this year, and 28 last year, with 361 reported in total since 1998.
Other figures from the Civil Aviation Authority suggest 46 of the 361 incidents were in the most serious category, and at least eight of the incidents involved two Tornados.
The MoD insisted last night that such near-misses remained “extremely rare”.
Moray SNP MP Angus Robertson – who obtained the statistics from UK defence ministers – branded the scale of the cases “truly shocking”.
The figures have emerged as the procurator fiscal considers whether a fatal accident inquiry will be held into the 2012 collision of two Tornados from RAF Lossiemouth over the Moray Firth, which claimed the lives of three air crew.
The Press and Journal understands that a Military Aviation Authority inquiry into the crash, will criticise the MoD.
A source who has seen the findings said they raised questions about the absence of a collision avoidance system, which was recommended as far back as 1998, but will not be fitted on the jets until December next year.
He predicted it would be “highly problematic” for the MoD, and upsetting for the bereaved families. The collision claimed the lives of Flight Lieutenant Adam Sanders, Squadron Leader Samuel Bailey and Flight Lieutenant Hywel Poole. A fourth man – who has not been named – survived the incident on July 3 last year.
In 2009, the MoD was heavily criticised in an independent report into the 2006 explosion of a Kinloss-based Nimrod MR2 spy plane in Afghanistan, which killed 14 people.
The QC-led inquiry claimed a “lamentable” safety case drawn up for the Nimrod fleet was “riddled with errors”, and had failed to identify serious design flaws which led to the crash.
The figures for near-misses involving Tornados cover a period when the planes were based at Lossiemouth, the former Leuchars station in Fife and RAF Marham in Norfolk.
The jets are due to be taken out of service before the end of the decade.
Mr Robertson said: “These statistics on aircraft near-collisions are truly shocking.
“Almost all aircraft types have collision avoidance systems to reduce the risk, but RAF Tornados which are involved in the most in near-collisions do not.
“Tragically, two Tornados from RAF Lossiemouth collided above the Moray Firth in 2012 killing three personnel and seriously injuring a fourth.
“We will learn shortly whether a fatal accident inquiry will be held into the circumstances and no doubt the absence of a collision warning system will be part of the considerations,” added the MP.
“Fast jets and their crews face particular training and operational risks, but the MoD has a duty of care to provide potential lifesaving equipment like collision warning systems.
“Such a system was recommended by the MoD in 1998 for Tornados but has not yet been installed,” added Mr Robertson. The MoD said: “Air proximity incidents are extremely rare in comparison to the millions of flights in UK airspace every year.
“Tornado pilots, like all military aviators, have multiple mitigation measures in place that reduce the risks of mid-air collisions.”