§ Mr. Bruceasked the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are being taken to ensure that tests on the behaviour of helicopters when ditching in the sea (a) are 93W based on experiments on actual aircraft rather than models in tanks and (b) take account of nautical factors and advice available from experienced maritime sources.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerThe Civil Aviation Authority, which is the responsible body, informs me that it always considers carefully the validity of tank model testing of the behaviour of a helicopter after ditching, when assessing whether that helicopter complies with British civil airworthiness requirements. The authority bases its specific nautical conditions on the internationally agreed code of the World Meteorological Organisation, and also takes account of advice from any other appropriate source.