HC Deb 16 May 1960 vol 623 c922
51. Mr. Chetwynd

asked the Minister of Aviation whether he will make a statement on the Civil Aircraft Accident Report No. C667 on an accident to Britannia G-ANCA on 6th November, 1957.

Mr. Rippon

The investigation of this accident, which took place on a development flight, has involved an exhaustive technical examination of virtually the whole of a large and complicated aircraft. As the Report indicates, the ultimate cause of the accident could not be determined.

Mr. Chetwynd

Was this aircraft carrying any flight recording apparatus, and would not this have been able to give valuable evidence in this regrettable case?

Mr. Rippon

I think that the difficulty in this case was that the wreckage was spread over an enormous area. That is one of the reasons why it has taken so long to produce the Report and why there can be no certainty as to the cause of the accident.