§ Mr. Wallaceasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether he is satisfied with the Civil Aviation Authority's discharge of its functions in relation to the mandatory occurrence reporting scheme in the light of the representations to his Department made by Mr. Allan Pring of Shetland; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what representations his Department has received since November 1986 from Mr. Allan Pring of Shetland regarding helicopter safety and the requirement to file mandatory occurrence reports;
(3) in the light of recent representations made to him by Mr. Allan Pring, what steps were taken to improve the safety of helicopter operations at Sumburgh airport, Shetland, following the filing of a mandatory occurrence report at that airport in March 1982.
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§ Mr. Peter BottomleyMr. Allan Pring has written several times to the Department since November 1986. He has also had a meeting with one of the Department's officials. The points Mr. Pring has made about helicopter safety and the requirement to file mandatory occurrence reports have been brought to the attention of the Civil Aviation Authority which is wholly responsible for aviation safety. We understand from the authority that, following analysis of the mandatory occurrence report submitted at Sumburgh in March 1982, revised emergency reporting procedures for helicopters were introduced at Aberdeen and Sumburgh airports. Further consideration was given to these procedures in the light of experience gained with them and as a result improved instructions for all aircraft were introduced in May 1987. In December 1986, the authority issued a revised edition of Civil Aviation Publication No. 382, which gives information and guidance on the mandatory occurrence reporting scheme.