§ Mr. RAPER(by Private Notice) asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will make a statement regarding the lamentable accident to the London-Paris passenger aeroplanes on Friday last, and, further, whether in order to reassure the public as to the safety of air travel he will state the total number of casualties which have occurred and the total number of passengers carried since the different London-Paris services were inaugurated?
The SECRETARY of STATE for AIR (Captain Guest)I have as yet no information that would enable me to amplify the Press reports of this regrettable accident, which is, I am glad to say, of a kind that is very rare in the air. The British subsidised London-Paris air service carried nearly 6,000 passengers during the year just ended, or nearly 1,100 machine voyages, without a single fatal accident. Comparable figures of French London-Paris air service are, approximately, 1,600 machine voyages, carrying 4,500 passengers.