§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he is satisfied that accidents involving British subjects as passengers in McDonnell Douglas DC10 aircraft over the past six years have been due to human error and poor servicing, as has been suggested in the case of the major disasters in Paris, Chicago and Mexico City or due to flaws in the aircraft's design.
§ Mr. TebbitThe Department of Trade does not keep a record of British subjects involved in accidents occurring abroad to foreign registered aircraft. However, of the 28 McDonnell Douglas DC10 accidents notified to the International Civil Aviation Organisation in the past six years there have been 10 which were not attributable to human error or poor servicing. These were associated with wind shear, bird ingestion into engines, tyre failures, turbulence, auto-pilot defects and landing gear failure, such as have occurred in many other types of transport aircraft.
§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will set up an immediate investigation into the safety of McDonnell Douglas DC10 aircraft.
§ Mr. TebbitNo. Civil aviation safety in the United Kingdom is primarily the responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority. I understand the Authority has no plans for such an investigation.
§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Trade what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority regarding the safety of passengers flying on DC10s operated by British Airways since the air crash involving a DC10 of New Zealand Airlines.
§ Mr. TebbitNone. My Department maintains a continuous liaison with the Civil Aviation Authority on many items including air safety. The Air New Zealand accident is under investigation by the appropriate New Zealand authority and it would be totally premature to speculate on the cause of the accident or178W whether the accident is related to a particular type of aircraft.