§ 9. Mr. Cooperasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation what steps it is proposed to take to overhaul the air accident inquiry procedure with a view to eliminating the present defects by which his officials are sitting as judge in their own case and with a view to substituting an adequate judicial procedure to protect the rights of all parties concerned; and when he proposes to comply with Regulation 7 of the Air Navigation (Investigation of Accident) Regulations, S.R. & O., No. 650, 1922, in connection with civil air accidents of a serious nature, in connection with which a non-judicial preliminary investigation is obviously inadequate.
§ Mr. LindgrenAs I informed the House on 3rd July last, my noble Friend is seeking the views of the National Civil Aviation Consultative Council on the whole question of air accident inquiry procedure. In reply to the second part of the Question, Regulation 7 empowers my noble Friend to appoint a Court when it appears to him expedient to hold a formal investigation. As I stated on nth June last, my noble Friend proposes to exercise that power if the case presents problems of exceptional difficulty and public importance.