§ 91. Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Air Force aircraft were destroyed in flying accidents during 1967; and how many aircrew were killed or injured in such accidents.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesIt would be contrary to long-established practice to publish detailed statistics of R.A.F. accidents. The general trend has been one of steady improvement over the years and, in terms of flying hours, the accident rate of the R.A.F. in 1967 was the best ever achieved. I regret, however, that the number of aircrew killed in 1967 was greater than in some other years because there were three accidents to Shackletons involving aircrew fatalities and these aircraft carry a much larger crew than any other R.A.F. aircraft.