§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether in future he will publish summaries of the causes of accidents involving Services aircraft; and how many (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force (i) helicopters and (ii) aircraft have been lost in each of the last five years and in 1979 to date.
§ Mr. PattieIt is my intention to make a statement in the House at the earliest opportunity regarding the publication of information about the causes of military flying accidents.
The number of Service aircraft lost, that is missing or damaged beyond repair, over the period stated, and broken down between helicopters and fixed wing types, is as follows:
HELICOPTERS Year Royal Navy Army Royal Air Force 1974 … 6 3 1 1975 … 6 8 0 1976 … 5 3 1 1977 … 5 3 0 1978 … 2 6 2 1978 to date … 1 4 1
FIXED WING AIRCRAFT Year Royal Navy Army Royal Air Force 1974 … 2 0 11 1975 … 0 0 16 1976 … 1 0 24 1977 … 1 1 14 1978 … 2 1 18 1979 to date … 0 1 24 Figures for recent years may differ from statistics previously published as the categorisation of damage is subject to change after detailed inspection.