§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the co-operative trials with the British Hang Gliding Association in 1987 including the encouragement of hang glider pilots to use notified hang gliding sites.
§ Mr. FreemanFollowing discussions between the British Hang Gliding Association (BHGA) the Ministry of Defence and the National Air Traffic Services, a voluntary trial was instigated whereby, during the period 1 March to 31 October 1987, members of the BHGA would seek to confine their weekday flying activity to 36 specified sites in the United Kingdom. It was agreed that military aircraft would bypass these sites by 1 nautical mile and would not overfly them at heights of less than 1,000 ft. The trial
Year 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 Royal Air Force 464 621 693 785 768 779 743 710 685 Army 14 21 35 34 27 26 42 46 38 Royal Navy 18 25 24 37 27 43 26 36 16 Procurement Executive 14 21 26 20 20 28 22 12 19 Total 510 688 778 876 842 876 833 804 758 As a result of these bird strikes, there were 14 major accidents resulting in serious damage to, or destruction of, the aircraft involved.