§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on informing(a) hon. Members and (b) local media when changes are made in the directional flow control measures in the United Kingdom low flying system.
§ Mr. HanleyWhen significant changes are made to the United Kingdom low flying systems, hon. Members whose constituencies are affected are given appropriate notification as are the local media. The United Kingdom low flying system is, however, under continuous review and changes to arrangements such as directional flow control measures are made when necessary. It is not our practice to notify hon. Members and the local media of all such changes.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the map showing the general structure of the night low flying system.
§ Mr. HanleyA copy of a map of the United Kingdom night low flying system is being placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence which aircraft types in British military service are classified as light propellor-driven aircraft for the purposes of the low flying regulations.
§ Mr. HanleyThe aircraft types in British military service which are classified as light propellor-driven aircraft for the purposes of the low flying regulations are the Bulldog, the Chipmunk and the Islander aircraft.
487W
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if light propellor-driven aircraft and helicopters flying at altitudes between 500 and 2,000 ft above ground level are obliged to comply with the directional flow regulations in the United Kingdom low flying system.
§ Mr. HanleyAll military aircraft, including helicopters and light propellor-driven types, flying at altitudes between 500 and 2,000 ft above ground level are required to comply with the directional flow arrows in the United Kingdom low flying system, whether they are booked into the system or not.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the minimum authorised altitude for Nimrod aircraft flying over the sea.
§ Mr. HanleyThe minimum authorised altitude for Nimrod aircraft flying over the sea within three nautical miles of the United Kingdom coastline is 250 ft. Beyond three nautical miles from the coastline, the Nimrod is authorised to fly down to 200 ft during the day.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if low flying military jet aircraft seeking permission to enter class D airspace during the course of a low flying sortie are required to meet the regulations for such airspace in respect of(a) not exceeding an indicated airspeed of 250 knots and (b) maintaining a vertical separation from cloud of 1,000 ft.
§ Mr. HanleyLow flying military jet aircraft seeking permission to enter class D airspace are not required to comply with the airspeed limit of 250 knots, which applies only to civil aircraft. They do, however, have to maintain a vertical separation from cloud of 1,000 ft if flying under visual flight rules.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence which commanders in the Royal Air Force currently hold the authority to approve or decline unit requests to fly at less than 250 ft over the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the procedures in force for requests for and authorisations of such flying.
§ Mr. HanleyCommanders-in-chief or officers of equivalent status may authorise flying at less than 250 ft, but not less than 100 ft in the tactical training areas in the United Kingdom. In practice, this authority is delegated to the air officer commanding of the group concerned. Units wishing to carry out operational low flying submit requests to group headquarters where they are scrutinised to ensure the activity represents the minimum necessary before authorisation is given.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria are used in determining whether an environmentally sensitive location is granted Provost Marshal Prohibited or Provost Marshal Restricted area status, as opposed to low flying avoidance area status; and what are the differences between Provost Marshal areas and other types of low flying avoidance area, in terms of available sanctions on aircrew breaching these areas.
§ Mr. HanleyIn the majority of cases where it is agreed to grant avoidance status, a permanent, seasonal, or temporary low flying avoidance area will be declared, thus providing protection from military aircraft conducting low flying training. Exceptionally, if it is necessary to exclude488W all military aircraft including, wherever possible, those on operational tasks, a provost marshal prohibited or restricted area will be created. There is no difference between a provost marshal area and a low flying avoidance in terms of the available sanctions on aircrew breaching these areas.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the radius of provost marshal prohibited area PMP 103.
§ Mr. HanleyProvost marshal prohibited area PMP 103, which applied to the Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust, is no longer in force. It was replaced in April 1987 by a seasonal avoidance which is in effect between 1 September and 15 April each year. It is not our practice to release detailed information on the dimesions of such avoidances.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if individual Royal Air Force flying units maintain their own lists of features for use as simulated targets; and what is the procedure for pre-surveying the areas surrounding these locations in order to ensure their suitability on environmental and safety grounds.
§ Mr. HanleyRoyal Air Force units maintain locally produced simulated target lists and these are reviewed regularly. Targets are carefully selected and account is taken of the location of nearby habitation and the environmental and safety factors involved.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities for overland low flying at less than 250 ft were made available to (1) Royal Navy Sea Harrier pilots and (2) Royal Air Force Harrier pilots prior to deploying to the south Atlantic for combat operations during the Falklands war.
§ Mr. HanleySince 1979 fixed-wing flying below 250 ft in the United Kingdom low flying system has been restricted to three sparsely populated areas in northern Scotland, central Wales and the Borders which are designated as tactical training area. There is no record of any aircraft having been authorised to fly training sorties below 250 ft outside these areas in preparation for deployment to the Falklands.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to authorise fixed-wing low flying at night at less than 250 ft.
§ Mr. HanleyThere are no such plans.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the towns specified for avoidance in the United Kingdom Military Low Flying Handbook are also marked as locations requiring avoidance on the pre-printed low flying charts used by aircrew.
§ Mr. HanleyMilitary pilots are instructed to avoid flying low over major conurbations and towns and to avoid all other populated areas wherever possible whether they are listed for avoidance in the United Kingdom Low Flying Handbook or not. The boundaries of the avoidance areas around major conurbations are shown on the low flying charts used by aircrew. In addition, towns sufficiently large to qualify for formal avoidance status are shown as built up areas on the charts, together with some smaller towns, and aircrew will therefore be reminded of their location when planning sorties. The only towns specifically marked as 489W sites to be avoided are a number of small communities within tactical training areas, which are too small to show as built up areas but are to be avoided by aircraft carrying out operational low flying.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the low flying areas in which there is an upper limit on the number of aircraft which can operate within the area at one time; what is the numerical limit in each case; and what was the date of introduction of the limit in each case.
§ Mr. HanleyThe information requested is as follows:
Low Flying Area Number of aircraft Date of Introduction LFA 7 30 October 1987 LFA 12 15 November 1990 LFA 17 20 October 1987 These limits apply to military fixed-wing aircraft, and do not include helicopters.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many formed Royal Air Force Vulcan flight crews held qualifications to fly at 100 ft above ground level in each year from 1977 to 1982.
§ Mr. HanleyThe information requested is not available.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to carry out a radar surveillance of low flying by military jet aircraft in the Barnsley/ Doncaster/Rotherham/Sheffield low flying transit area; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HanleyThere are no plans at present to carry out a radar surveillance of the transit area.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total number of low-flying sorties conducted by each type of Royal Air Force aircraft from Canadian forces base Goose Bay during the 1993 flying season.
§ Mr. HanleyThe number of low flying sorties carried out by Royal Air Force aircraft at Canadian forces base Goose Bay during the 1993 season was as follows:
Sorties Tornado GR1 574 Harrier GR7 5 Tornado F3 2