§ Mr. Tudor Watkinsasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement upon the recent accident outside Rhayader, Radnorshire, involving an aeroplane; and whether he intends to allow low flying aircraft to continue exercises above narrow valleys.
§ Dr. David OwenAt about 10.15 a.m. on 3rd March, 1969, a Hunter aircraft from the Royal Naval Air Station, Brawdy, crashed four miles north-west of Rhayader, Radnorshire. The aircraft314W was on a standard tactical reconnaissance training sortie in an authorised training area. Unfortunately the pilot was killed. The cause of the accident is not yet known, but a full and searching investigation is taking place.
Low level training is undertaken in various parts of the United Kingdom selected both because they are relatively sparsely populated and because the geographical features, including valleys and mountains in some cases, are representative of the terrain over which operations are likely to take place.