§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which a United States Navy pilot was killed flying a Royal Air Force Harrier on 2 November 1987;
(2) if he will make a statement on the estimated frequency of pilots from other nations flying the aircraft of the British armed forces, the level of authority required for pilots of other nations to fly British armed forces aircraft and whether that authority was given in the case of the accident on 2 November 1987 involving a Royal Air Force Harrier piloted by United States Navy pilot.
§ Mr. FreemanOn 2 November 1987, two Royal Air Force Harrier aircraft from No. 3 squadron, RAF Gutersloh collided over the Otterburn training range while undertaking bombing practice during Exercise Mallet Blow. The pilots, Flight Lieutenant D. R. Sunderland and554W Lieutenant (United States Navy) J. R. Carver, were both killed. The accident has been the subject of an RAF board of inquiry. A summary of its findings will be published in due course and a copy placed in the Library of the House in the usual way.
Lieutenant Carver had been flying with the RAF as an exchange pilot, in accordance with the usual regulations governing such arrangements. Aircrew exchanges between the services and those of other countries take place on a regular basis. In addition, non-UK personnel occasionally undertake flying training with the services as part of sponsored training schemes, or familiarisation flights for commercial or other reasons. All aircrew are subject to the same rigorous procedures as United Kingdom personnel. It would not be possible, without undue cost and effort, to quantify precisely the frequency of flights undertaken in service aircraft by non-United Kingdom personnel, since this varies over time. All such flights are, however, authorised by the appropriate authority.