The Earl of SELKIRKMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any problems are being posed by so-called "cowboy" aircraft.
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, there is no evidence to indicate that the operation of so-called "cowboy "aircraft is a widespread problem in the United Kingdom. The Question derives, I believe, from the occasion at Bristol Airport on 11th October 1979 when a Boeing 707 struck a hedge and a number of approach lights as it took off. The aircraft continued its flight to Kuwait without further incident. It arrived in the United Kingdom on 15th August, 1979 American-owned and registered, and during its stay in this country was leased to a Liechtenstein based company and reregistered under a Zaire registration, although there is some doubt as to the latter. I am assured by the Civil Aviation Authority, which has the matter under investigation, that it is an isolated incident and that it is not aware of any other such incident so far as the United Kingdom is concerned.
The Earl of SELKIRKMy Lords, may I thank the noble Lord. Is it a problem of any magnitude outside the United Kingdom? If I understand the noble Lord aright, these are aeroplanes flying under flags of convenience, with registration of convenience, and with maintenance of convenience. Do they present a hazard to aircraft outside the United Kingdom, even if not allowed inside the United Kingdom'?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, I cannot of course answer for the policing of the regulations by other States. But I can say that we have no evidence to support the suggestion that this is a widespread hazard.