§ 15. Mr. Rankinasked the Minister of Aviation what steps he is proposing to take for the improvement of safety standards on British scheduled air services.
18. Mr. Leeasked the Minister of Aviation whether he is aware of the heavier accident rate on non-scheduled flights than that on scheduled ones; and what action he proposes to take to reduce such accidents.
§ Mr. MartenWhile the accident rate on non-scheduled flights is higher than on scheduled flights the total number of accidents is so small that valid comparison is not easy. It is the Government's aim to improve air safety generally and safety standards apply alike to all operators. The White Paper of 1962 outlined measures in hand including air operators' certificatesand improvements in pilot training and in airworthiness control. In co-operation with those concerned, particularly constructors, operators and pilots, these measures are being constantly developed in the light of experience including the analysis of accidents.
§ Mr. RankinIs not the hon. Gentleman aware that the United Kingdom survey of aircraft accidents which was published for 1962 showed that in 1961 and 1962, 227 passengers and crew were killed in British United Kingdom air services, 185 of them on non-scheduled flights? Does he think that those are small numbers? Ought they not to trouble him? Will he make some comment on why there are so many accidents on non-scheduled flights?
§ Mr. MartenThis is a very wide subject. I share the hon. Member's anxiety and I take it most seriously. Among other things, I attended the recent symposium on flight safety which studied this question. However, the figures of deaths which the hon. Member gave can be put another way, that is, by comparing the number of accidents on scheduled and non-scheduled flights. Both classes had two fatal accidents each in 1961–62, but the scheduled operators flew about three times as much. Much of this goes back to the correct analysis of the accident figures, which we are trying to improve.
Mr. LeeWould not the hon. Gentleman agree that we cannot possibly tolerate a position in which one type of flight shows a far higher incidence of accidents than another and that the minimum must be our aim? If the numbers of people flying continue to increase as now, will not this problem of accidents on non-scheduled flights become a very grave issue, far from being a small matter? Is there not proof positive in the figures which we now have that it is far more dangerous to fly on a non-scheduled flight than on a scheduled flight?
§ Mr. MartenI urge the hon. Member to treat these figures with considerable reserve at this stage. The figures for the two years for which statistics of non-scheduled flights have been kept are insufficient to establish a trend for the accident rate for non-scheduled flights. Nevertheless, I agree that this is a very serious matter.