§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the crash of a Royal Air Force trainer aircraft at Radernie on Saturday 20 February.
§ Mr. WigginThe aircraft, an RAF Bulldog from St. Andrews university air squadron, RAF Leuchars, was on a training flight, performing various normal manoeuvres. It was crewed by two experienced pilots. Having performed and recovered from one practice spin quite normally, they entered a second. This time the aircraft failed to recover and the crew bailed out at 4,000 ft, one pilot suffering a broken nose. The aircraft crashed in a seeded field. Representatives of our claims commission have visited the scene and compensation for seed damage is being arranged.
An RAF board of inquiry is already investigating the accident to determine the cause. When this investigation is complete, which will not be for several months, I shall, in accordance with normal procedures, place a summary report in the Library of the House.