§ Mr. Pattieasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the two Harrier jet aircraft which were lost on 19th January 1976 will be replaced.
§ Mr. MasonYes. Frontline squadron strengths are maintained by making allowance for anticipated losses when determining the numbers of aircraft to be purchased.
§ Mr. Mayhewasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many flying hours on Harriers, and how many hours on the Harrier flight simulator, were logged, respectively, in each of the last three months by each of the pilots killed in the Harrier crashes on 19th January 1976.
§ Mr. John,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 22nd January 1976; Vol. 903, c. 515], gave the following information:
To the nearest whole number, the flying hours logged by the two instructor pilots from No. 233 Operational Con- 52W version Unit on Harrier aircraft were as follows:
Flight Lieutenant Roberts Flight Lieutenant Downey November 1975 14 16 December 1975 11 14 January (to 19th) 1976 8 16 During the same period, Flight Lieutenant Roberts, who had flown a total of 1,000 hours on the Harrier, did not log any hours in the simulator, while Flight Lieutenant Downey, who had flown 911 hours on the Harrier, logged one hour in the simulator.