§ Mr. RogersTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the overall rates of low-level flying accidents in the Royal Air Force, expressed as a percentage of flying hours and low-level flying hours since 1980.
§ Mr. FreemanAs was explained to the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) at column82 on 8 541W December 1987, records of hours flown at low level by military aircraft are not held centrally. The rate of major accidents (per 10,000 hours flown by Royal Air Force aircraft at all levels worldwide) which occurred during low level operations was as follows:
Per cent. 1980 0.12 1981 0.11 1982 0.22 1983 0.17 1984 0.14 1985 0.10 1986 0.08 1987 0.18
§ Mr. RogersTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low-level sorties were flown by the RAF in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) the Federal Republic of Germany; in each year since 1980.
§ Mr. FreemanSeparate records of low-level sorties flown by the RAF in the United Kingdom are not available, but those for all British military aircraft (both fixed wing and helicopter) were as follows.
Number 1980 180,860 1981 194,620 1982 1106,920 1983 1118,920 1984 109,244 1985 115,063 1986 123,488 1987 123,293 1Before 1984 sorties were not recorded directly but have been calculated from movements. On average there are 2.5 movements per sortie. Figures for RAF fixed wing low-level sorties in the Federal Republic of Germany are not available prior to 1984. Those for 1984 onwards are given below. These do not include helicopter sorties because these are not centrally recorded.
Number 1984 18,752 1985 18,124 1986 16,853 1987 15,900