§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all incidents since August 1989 in which Royal Air Force aircraft have struck objects on the ground during flight but have subsequently landed successfully, giving the date, aircraft type, location and circumstances of each case.
§ Mr. Kenneth CarlisleThe information requested is in the table. Occurrences involving helicopters landing or hovering in the field are omitted.
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Date Mission 15 May 1986 A Shackleton aircraft provided top cover for a SAR helicopter after an aircraft ditched in the sea. 15 July 1986 A Shackleton aircraft located an officer who had ejected from an RAF Lightning seven nautical miles north of Whitby and helped direct a SAR helicopter to him. 8 October 1986 A Shackleton aircraft assisted in the search for a missing aircraft. 22–24 April 1987 Shackleton aircraft flew four missions as on-scene commander during the search for the wreckage and casualties from an RAF Buccaneer which had crashed 30 nautical miles east of Wick. 2 and 8 July 1987 On each occasion a Shackleton aircraft provided top cover for a SAR helicopter attending an incident at sea.
Date Mission 3 October 1988 A Shackleton aircraft provided top cover for a SAR helicopter attending a medical rescue from a boat. 28 October 1988 A Shackleton aircraft assisted in the search for a body at sea. 8 November 1988 A Shackleton aircraft was used to search for the source of a distress signal beacon.