§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the base facility for search and rescue helicopters at RAF Leuchars was designed to accommodate Sea King helicopters; and what was the contribution of NATO to its construction.
§ Mr. AitkenThe base facility at RAF Leuchars is of a standard SAR design capable of supporting a number of helicopter types, including Sea Kings. The original SAR facility was demolished to make way for other NATO dedicated facilities. NATO funded 97 per cent. of the construction costs of the current facility.
§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the time taken by a search and sea rescue helicopter to reach the position of an accident of incident in the North sea 20 to 50 miles east of the River Tay estuary following receipt of notification of the emergency, for aircraft based at either Lossiemouth, Kinloss, Leuchars, Bulmar or Prestwick; and how the flight time is affected by easterly gale force winds of 50 mph, 60 mph or 70 mph.
§ Mr. AitkenAfter take-off, the time taken, in minutes, to reach the point 20 miles east of the River Tay estuary is:
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Aircraft Base Still Air Easterly Wind Speed (mph)1 50 60 70 Lossiemouth 47 74 83 95 Kinloss 47 74 83 95 Leuchars 13 24 29 38
Aircraft Base Still Air Easterly Wind Speed (mph)1 50 60 70 Boulmer 38 38 38 38 Prestwick 55 86 97 111 1 The highest hourly wind speed at RAF Leuchars since 1970 is 47 knots. Time taken, in minutes, to reach the point 50 miles east of the River Tay estuary is:
Aircraft Base Still Air Easterly Wind Speed1 50 60 70 Lossiemouth 57 89 100 114 Kinloss 58 91 102 116 Leuchars 29 56 68 87 Boulmer 36 36 36 36 Prestwick 70 109 123 141 1 The highest hourly wind speed recorded at RAF Leuchars since 1970 is 47 knots. Any easterly wind will, of course, benefit the flight times for aircraft from Lossiemouth, Kinloss, Leuchars and Prestwick on their return journey.
§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the time taken by a search and sea rescue helicopter to reach the ski slopes of Glenshee following receipt of notification of an accident for helicopters based at either Lossiemouth, Kinloss, Leuchars, Boulmer or Prestwick; and how the flight time is affected by easterly gale force winds of 50 mph, 60 mph or 70 mph.
§ Mr. AitkenHelicopter flight in mountainous regions during high winds is extremely hazardous and would be contemplated only in the most serious of circumstances.
After take-off, the time taken, in minutes to reach the ski slopes of Glenshee following notification of an incident is:
Aircraft Base Still Air Easterly Wind Speed1 50 60 70 Lossiemouth 28 28 28 28 Kinloss 27 27 27 27 Leuchars 20 16 16 15 Boulmer 62 49 48 46 Prestwick 62 68 73 78 1 The highest hourly wind speed recorded at RAF Leuchars since 1970 is 47 knots.
§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he can give details of the number of rescue missions carried out by search and rescue helicopters during winter months in the Grampian mountains of Tayside, Central and Grampian regions during the last 10 years; and from which base the helicopters left to carry out the missions.
§ Mr. AitkenIt has not been possible to separate the Tayside region from the Central and Grampian regions. Information on rescues carried out before 1983 is unavailable.
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Rescues carried out in the Central region from RAF Lossiemouth Year Total number of call-outs Number of rescue operations undertaken Number of people rescued 1983–84 1 1 1 1984–85 0 0 0 1985–86 0 0 0 1986–87 0 0 0 1987–88 0 0 0 1988–89 1 0 0 1989–90 1 0 0 1990–91 0 0 0 1991–92 1 0 0
Rescues carried out in the Central region from RAF Leuchars Year Total number of call-outs Number of rescue operations undertaken Number of people rescued 1983–84 5 3 4 1984–85 1 1 1 1985–86 3 1 1 1986–87 1 0 0 1987–88 1 1 1 1988–89 1 1 1 1989–90 3 0 0 1990–91 6 5 6 1991–92 6 2 2
Rescues carried out in the Central region from Prestwick: Year Total number of call-outs Number of rescue operations undertaken Number of people rescued 1983–84 3 3 3 1984–85 1 0 0 1985–86 0 0 0 1986–87 5 3 4 1987–88 2 1 1 1988–89 2 1 2 1989–90 7 2 3 1990–91 4 1 1 1991–92 4 0 0 No other SAR flights were involved in mountain rescue in the Central region.
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Rescues carried out in the Grampian region from RAF Lossiemouth: Year Total number of call-outs Number of rescue operations undertaken Number of people rescued 1983–84 21 6 14 1984–85 11 6 9 1985–86 8 7 8 1986–87 13 8 10 1987–88 14 2 4 1988–89 13 6 12 1989–90 14 9 11 1990–91 22 9 12 1991–92 13 8 12
Rescues carried out in the Grampian region from RAF Leuchars: Year Total number of call-outs Number of rescue operations undertaken Number of people rescued 1983–84 17 7 17 1984–85 8 4 5 1985–86 6 5 5 1986–87 6 5 6 1987–88 3 0 0 1988–89 6 4 12 1989–90 7 1 2 1990–91 9 5 5 1991–92 8 5 6 In addition, the Royal Navy helicopters based at Prestwick undertook two rescue missions, saving three people in 1983–84.
§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many rescue missions were carried out by search and rescue helicopters during the winter months in the River Tax estuary, and in the North sea up to 100 miles east of the estuary, during the past 10 years; and if he will detail from which base the helicopters left to carry out the missions.
§ Mr. AitkenThe available information, which covers the periods October to March for the years 1983 to 1992, is as follows.
Year Total number of call-outs Number of rescue operations undertaken Number of people rescued 1983–84 5 4 5 1984–85 8 7 19 1985–86 3 0 0 1986–87 2 1 1 1987–88 5 1 5 1988–89 5 2 3 1989–90 6 2 2 1990–91 4 1 1 1991–92 5 2 5