§ LORD BALFOUR OF INCHRYEMy Lords, I beg to ask the following Question of which I have given private Notice: Whether His Majesty's Government have any statement to make upon the publication of the report of the court investigation on the accident to the British European Airways Dakota aircraft G-AHCY, at Ringway on August 19 last.
THE MINISTER OF CIVIL AVIATION (LORD PAKENHAM)My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for giving me this opportunity of making a statement. The report is to be published forthwith, and copies are now available to your Lordships in the Printed Paper Office. The main conclusions, from which I see no reason to dissent, are that while it is impossible to establish with certainty the reason for the accident, it was probably due to an error in navigation, incorrect approach procedure and failure to check the position of the aircraft accurately before the descent from a safe height. The court is of the opinion that the accident was not contributed to by any malfunctioning of the standard beam approach installation.
The court has made a number of recommendations, mainly of a technical character, with which I need not trouble the House. It considered that the staff of the ground services acted correctly and could not have taken any action by which the accident could have been avoided. It has, however, expressed the opinion that a departmental investigation of the organisation of the Ministry's Northern Divisional Headquarters should be undertaken, because prima facie it appeared to the court that there existed at the headquarters an undesirable atmosphere of complacency as well as a high degree of decentralisation without adequate supervision from the top. I accordingly 226 ordered such an investigation, which has now been carried out. As a result, I am satisfied that there was no complacency or undue decentralisation in the organisation but that, before the court inquiry, there had been a certain lack of supervision which had already been corrected by the time of the departmental inquiry. The arrangements now in force should ensure adequate supervision in future.
I cannot end without repeating my deep sympathy with all those bereaved by this sad accident.
§ LORD BALFOUR OF INCHRYEMy Lords, arising out of the Minister's statement, may I associate myself and noble Lords on this side of the House with the noble Lord and the Government in the expression of sympathy for those who have been bereaved or injured in this tragic accident? Arising from the statement, may I ask the Minister two questions? The first is this. In respect of the court's view that prima facie there were some faults in his Department, is he satisfied that such faults, if existing, could not have had any possible bearing on the accident? The second question is: If, when we have all had time to study this report, we feel that some further information is required, will the Minister be prepared to make a further statement?
§ LORD BALFOUR OF INCHRYEDoes that apply to the first question: that any weaknesses, if they existed, could have had no possible bearing on the accident?
LORD PAKENHAMI agree entirely with the court in saying that they could have had no bearing on the accident.