§ BARONESS LLEWELYN-DAVIES OF HASTOEMy Lords, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade is making a Statement in another place on the DC-10 accident in France. It has been agreed through the usual channels that the Statement need not be repeated here, but with the leave of the House I will arrange for it to be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§
The Statement was as follows:
As the House will know, 345 people, including about 200 British subjects, lost their lives in the most terrible air disaster ever to occur when a Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashed North of Paris on Sunday, March 3. I am sure the House will wish to join me in expressing deepest sympathy to the relatives and friends of all those who were killed in this appalling disaster.
The French authorities have set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the cause of the accident. The Chairman of the Commission invited the United Kingdom to send an observer to be present as soon as it was established that there were so many British passengers involved and I am grateful to him for allowing this facility. A senior member of the staff of the Chief Inspector of Accidents in my Department went to Paris the day following the accident.
The investigation is still in the preliminary stage and it is unlikely that the report of the Commission will be completed for many months. There is evidence that the rear cargo door on the port side became detached as the aircraft climbed through an altitude of 13,000 feet. Inspection of the door, which was found some 15 kilometres from the main accident site, showed indications that it had come open in flight, causing sudden decompression of the cargo hold. The air pressure in the passenger cabin appears to have distorted the cabin floor, disrupting the cables to the main flying controls in the tail to such an extent that the
130
aircraft went out of control. This information was passed on March 5 to the Civil Aviation Authority which is responsible for British airworthiness standards and the Authority immediately alerted the only British operator of DC-10 aircraft, Laker Airways. This company at once ordered the rear cargo door of its DC-10 aircraft to be closed permanently, and a metal plate was screwed over the lock handles.
Shortly after the accident the Federal Aviation Administration of the U.S.A., which originally granted a certificate of airworthiness for the aircraft, issued an airworthiness directive, compliance with which is mandatory for aircraft registered in the United States. This requires certain modifications to be installed before further flight and introduces a procedure for the flight crew to make pre-flight checks on the door latching mechanisms. Copies of this directive were sent to all States operating DC-10s. These modifications had already been embodied in the Laker Airways aircraft prior to delivery. Other aspects of the directive, in particular the pre-flight check, were made effective immediately. The Civil Aviation Authority has asked me to emphasise that the operator is giving the fullest possible co-operation in implementing these measures. The Authority is also in close touch with the manufacturer.
The Authority, while satisfied with the present measures taken by Laker Airways, assures me that it will not hesitate to take any further steps which in the light of further information appear to be necessary in the interests of safety.