HC Deb 25 June 1990 vol 175 cc117-8W
Mr. Campbell-Savours

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the total cost of the repairs to the Hawk aircraft, tail number XX227, following its accident on 21 April 1983; and where the repairs were carried out;

(2) what was the total cost of the repairs to the Tornado aircraft, tail number ZA597, following its accident at RAF Honington in November 1983;

(3) what was the total cost of repairs to the Tornado aircraft, tail number ZA412, following its accident at RAF Wildenrath on 14 April 1987.

Mr. Neubert

Exact repair costs for these aircraft are not available, but estimated figures are as follows:

Aircraft Date of Accident Estimated cost of repair £K
Hawk XX227 21 April 1983 35
Tornado ZA597 14 November 1983 91
Tornado ZA412 14 April 1987 23

Hawk XX227 was repaired at RAF Scampton and repainted at RAF St. Athan.

1989. Mr. Campbell-Savours

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the rate of major accidents per 10,000 flying hours for Royal Air Force fast jet aircraft in(a) 1988 and (b)

Mr. Neubert

The rates of major accidents per 10,000 flying hours for Royal Air Force fast jet aircraft, defined as Buccaneer, Harrier, Jaguar, Lightning, Phantom and Tornado aircraft, were 0.79 for 1988 and 0.59 for 1989.

Mr. Campbell-Savours

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all accidents to Royal Air Force fast jet aircraft since 1979 in which an aircraft was assessed to have category 4 damage, providing for each such accident(a) the date, (b) the type of aircraft and (c) the tail number of the aircraft.

Mr. Neubert

There have been eight accidents to RAF fast jet aircraft since 1979 where the damage has been assessed as category 4. Details are as follows:

Date Aircraft type Tail number
6 June 1979 Harrier XW767
19 August 1980 Hawk XX243
12 May 1982 Tornado ZA330
8 June 1982 Harrier XZ989
14 November 1983 Tornado ZA597
19 November 1985 Harrier XW922
10 December 1986 Tornado ZA611
24 June 1988 Hawk XX304

Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the total number of Hawk aircraft procured for the Royal Air Force has been lost in accidents over the aircraft's service life so far.

Mr. Neubert

Of the total number of Hawk aircraft procured for the RAF, 14.2 per cent. have been lost in accidents.

Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the rate of major accidents per 10,000 flying hours for the Tornado GR1 aircraft since its entry into RAF service, as at the latest available date; and how many RAF Tornado aircraft have been destroyed in flying accidents.

Mr. Neubert

Twenty-four Tornado aircraft have been lost in accidents since the aircraft's entry into service (23 Tornado GRI, and one Tornado F3).

On major accident rates, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Houghton and Washington (Mr. Boyes) on 26 June 1989, column 361.

Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the total number of Harrier aircraft procured for the Royal Air Force has been lost in accidents over the aircraft's service life so far.

Mr. Neubert

Of the total number of Harrier aircraft procured for the Royal Air Force, 27.4 per cent. have been lost in accidents.