§ 19. Mr. Shepherdasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation if he is aware of the fact that blocks of ice are still falling on property in the London area; and whether the preventive measures which he undertook to take have yet been completed.
§ Mr. BeswickThe requirement affecting new designs of British aircraft was introduced on 1st January and this should ensure that water discharged into the atmosphere cannot leave the aircraft in the form of ice. Where it is established that an aircraft type in current service is prone to the formation of ice from this source, modification action will be called for and has already been taken in respect of one such type. Airframe icing is believed to have caused some reported cases of ice falling. It is expected that the use of improved anti-icing systems in new types of transport aircraft will progressively obviate this source of ice falls.
§ Mr. ShepherdSurely that action is not sufficiently urgent in view of the dangers to which people are subjected by this discharge of ice. Is it not the duty of the hon. Gentleman to see that all aircraft from which there is possible danger are modified in the way he has suggested?
§ Mr. BeswickYes, but the hon. Gentleman ought not to exaggerate. A number of the cases reported as ice falls have, in fact, been dummy bombs, signal rockets, candle grease and, in one case, a domestic refrigerator being emptied from a top floor flat. As for the rest, we are taking such action as is open to us.
§ Mr. Gerald WilliamsTo compensate the public for damage done by this menace, have the Government now completed negotiations for compulsory third party insurance?
§ Mr. BeswickNo, Sir.