§ Dr. Glynasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any further information about the circumstances in which a Pan American Boeing 747 flew over the Windsor area on 29th June; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. OnslowAs a result of further inquiries by my Department Pan American reports that, in the event of an engine failure in the early stages of take-off, its standard operating procedures call for a climb at a minimum safety speed to the altitude selected for level flight acceleration to flap-retraction speed. The United States regulations specify this altitude as a minimum of 400 feet; Pan American recommends 800 feet with consideration being given to the aircraft's performance. It stated that on this occasion the captain selected 500 feet and pointed out that at maximum take-off weight the Boeing 747 with an inoperative engine has to maintain level flight for a significant distance to enable it to accelerate to flap-retraction speed. Its investigation brought to light the fact that the crew of the aircraft forgot to retract the landing gear when the emergency developed and this could have contributed in large measure to the distance which was flown in level flight at relatively low altitude.
While I have no reason to believe the incident created any significant hazard, the failure in crew drills gives cause for some concern and I understand the Civil Aviation Authority is pursuing this aspect with the United States Federal Aviation Administration. I am glad to have had this opportunity to supplement and correct the information which I gave in 54W reply to my hon. Friend's Question on 5th July.—[Vol. 859, c. 179.]