Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities are provided to United States Army helicopter units based in the Federal Republic of Germany to conduct low-level pilot qualification exercises in the United Kingdom; on how many occasions such facilities have been utilised; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanThe United Kingdom provides facilities for training by helicopter aircrew of the United States in a variety of ways, including, on occasion, the use of the United Kingdom low-flying system for training purposes by aircrew based in the Federal Republic of Germany. Detailed records of such usage are not maintained, but my Department is not aware of any occasion during 1987 when such usage included low-level pilot qualification exercises.
Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what procedures exist to permit military aircrew to report their own breaches of low-flying regulations to the relevant authorities;
(2) how many breaches of low-flying regulations were reported to the relevant authorities by the aircrew involved in 1986 and 1987.
§ Mr. FreemanIt is standard procedure for aircrew to debrief, normally to their authorising officer, on all aspects of a training sortie in order to confirm that the requirements of a sortie have been met. The debrief provides the opportunity for the aircrew to report any difficulties encountered during the sortie, including breaches of low-flying regulations. If a breach of the regulations were sufficiently serious it would be reported to relevant authorities, otherwise the matter would be dealt with at station level. Central records of breaches reported during the debrief sessions are not held.
Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many confirmed breaches of low flying regulations in each year since 1974 were caused by negligence on the part of aircrew.
§ Mr. FreemanThe information requested cannot be provided without disproportionate effort.