§ 11. Mr. Tebbitasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will now require that the crash-protected flight recorders, which he already requires to be carried on turbine-engined transport aircraft of more than 12,500 lb. and piston-engined transport aircraft of more than 60,000 lb., should be serviceable on all flights.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Anthony Grant)The relevant maintenance and inspection procedures have been reviewed by the Air Registration Board but insistence on serviceability of the equipment on all flights would cause delays and consequent inconvenience to the travelling public without any commensurate gain in safety. I am however reviewing the matter to see whether the existing relaxation can be reduced.
§ Mr. TebbitIs my hon. Friend aware that, drawing from my experience and that of many others in the industry, I can assure him that these devices are frequently unserviceable? There need be no cause for delay if operators duplicated such devices, and this would be a small price to pay in cost or inconvenience to passengers for vastly increased safety.
§ Mr. GrantI appreciate my hon. Friend's great expertise on this subject. He is speaking of the ideal situation which we should all like to achieve. We 1212 are at present formulating proposals for new requirements for future flight recorders, based on the advice of a working group which is representative of all sections of the industry, including pilots.
§ Mr. GrantI cannot give the exact time delay without notice, but I am advised that there would be substantial delay without commensurate advantages in safety.