HC Deb 02 November 1993 vol 231 cc125-30W
Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft, and of what types, took part in the tactical leadership course at RAF Lossiemouth in May 1992; how many low-level sorties were undertaken; and how many of these were authorised down to a height of 100 ft.

Mr. Hanley

The tactical leadership training course held at RAF Lossiemouth in May 1992 involved eight Tornado GR1, two Tornado GR1a, six Tornado F3, four Harrier GR5, two Harrier GR7, four Buccaneer and four Hawk aircraft. Ninety-two low-level sorties were flown overland; none of them was authorised down to a height of 100 ft.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what regulations are contained in Joint Services Publication 318 concerning low-level flight over areas of concentrated population and public assemblies.

Mr. Hanley

Joint Services Publication 318 requires that aircraft flying over areas of concentrated population do so at sufficient height to permit a safe emergency landing outside the congested area—not less than 2,000 ft above ground level for fixed-wing aircraft and 1,000 ft for helicopters. If weather or other factors mean that sufficient height cannot be maintained, such areas are to be avoided unless doing so would endanger the aircraft. Flying over any place where a large number of people are assembled is prohibited below 1,000 ft except when specially authorised, or when it is necessary to do so while carrying out the arrival or departure procedure at an airfield or heliport. These regulations do not apply to aircraft participating in air displays or flypasts, to which separate procedures apply.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration has been given to extending the system by which aircrew entering a low-flying area broadcast their presence on a common military radio frequency, in such a way as to permit civil pilots to receive such broadcasts.

Mr. Hanley

At present there is no system for aircrew entering a low-flying area to broadcast their presence on a common military frequency.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of days in 1992 on which the observed weather was below the minima required for military low flying at(a) RAF Tain, (b) RAF Spadeadam, (c) RAF Wainfleet and (d) Pembrey.

Mr. Hanley

The information is not available in the format requested. The total number of hours lost in 1992 due to adverse weather at each range is, however, as follows:

Range Number of hours lost
RAF Tain 152
RAF Spadeadam1 Nil
RAF Wainfleet 180
RAF Pembrey 340
1 RAF Spadeadam is an all-weather facility.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft, and of what types, took part in the tactical leadership course(a) at RAF St. Mawgan in March and (b) at RAF Chivenor in November-December 1992; how many low-level sorties were undertaken; and how many of these were authorised down to a height of 100 ft.

Mr. Hanley

The tactical leadership training course held at RAF St. Mawgan in March 1993 involved six Tornado GR1, seven Tornado F3, four Buccaneer, four Sea Harrier, two Nimrod and one Sea King aircraft. Fourteen low-level sorties were flown overland. The helicopter tactics instructor course held at RAF Chivenor in November to December 1992 involved three Chinook, three Puma, two Wessex, three Harrier GR7, three Tornado GR1 and three Tornado F3 aircraft. Fifty-nine low-level sorties were flown overland, each involving two helicopters and one or two fast jets. No fixed-wing aircraft sorties were authorised down to a height of 100 ft during either course.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates and numbers of aircraft involved in training detachments of Harrier aircraft to West Freugh since 1990; how many low-level sorties have been undertaken during these deployments; and which location is now the principal location for night low-level training for the RAF Harrier force.

Mr. Hanley

Training detachments of Harrier aircraft were held at West Freugh between 18 to 27 November 1991, 28 September to 2 October 1992, and 4 to 8 October 1993. Eight aircraft were deployed on each occasion. A total of 80 low-level sorties were flown during the three detachments. RAF Harrier night low-flying training is conducted throughout the UK night low-flying system.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Harrier GR7 pilots have received night low-level training at US Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona; when the training programme commenced; how many sorties are required for each pilot to qualify to fly the aircraft at low level at night; what is the minimum altitude flown during the training; how many aircraft are currently committed to the task; and what is the additional cost of carrying out this training at Yuma rather than(a) in the United Kingdom and (b) at Goose Bay, Canada.

Mr. Hanley

Fifteen Harrier GR7 pilots have received night low-level training at United States Marine Corps air station, Yuma. There has only been one detachment to date which took place between 13 April and 12 May 1993. Each pilot, who must already be combat ready by day, must complete a syllabus of 36 sorties in order to qualify as night combat ready. The syllabus includes a mixture of low and medium-level sorties with a minimum altitude flown of 200 ft. Twelve aircraft are currently committed to the task. The additional cost of carrying out this training at Yuma rather than the United Kingdom or Goose Bay is approximately £250,000, as the squadron pilots and groundcrew have to be accommodated commercially. There is also the opportunity cost of the air transport and tanker aircraft required to deploy and recover the aircraft.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's policy on the institution of disciplinary proceedings against military aircrew in respect of unpremeditated or inadvertent breaches of flying regulations which come to light as a result of reports submitted under(a) the CONDOR system, (b) the APHAZ reporting system and (c) the air miss reporting system.

Mr. Hanley

There is no current record of reports submitted under the CONDOR system bringing to light cases of unpremeditated or inadvertent breaches of flying regulations. To take disciplinary action in such circumstances however, directly as the result of a CONDOR report, could seriously undermine a system which depends for its success on its confidentiality and which is of great value in assisting the furtherance of flight safety in the RAF. Under the air miss and APHAZ reporting systems, where aircrew are found to have been negligent, their unit commanders will take disciplinary action under the Air Force Act. The degree of the disciplinary action depends on the nature of the breach.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the categories of incident during military aircraft flying operations which are required to be reported under the CONDOR system.

Mr. Hanley

The confidential direct occurrence report —CONDOR—system allows aircrew and ATC personnel to report human error incidents anonymously. There are no categories of incident under the CONDOR system.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many instances of unauthorised penetration of controlled or restricted airspace in the United Kingdom by military aircraft climbing out from low level have been reported in each year since 1987.

Mr. Hanley

The number of reported incidents of unauthorised penetration of United Kingdom controlled and/or restricted airspace by military aircraft climbing out from low level is as follows:

Year No. of incidents
1987 3
1988 6
1989 5
1990 7
1991 0
1992 4
1993 12
1 To date.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations have been received since 1981 from civil aviation interests seeking relaxation of the rules prohibiting entry into the highlands restricted area.

Mr. Hanley

Since 1981 the national air traffic services have received 79 requests for entry into the highlands restricted area from a total of 20 civil aviation operators.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the locations in the United Kingdom low-flying system where flow control has been(a) introduced and (b) withdrawn since the information given by his Department to the Defence Committee inquiry into low flying in 1989–90; and if he will state in each case the direction of the required flow.

Mr. Hanley

The information requested cannot be provided without disproportionate cost and effort. In September 1993, however, the Civil Aviation Authority published a chart entitled "The Chart of UK Areas of Intense Aerial Activity (AIAA), Aerial Tactics Areas (ATA) and Military Low Flying System" showing details of all current unidirectional flow controls in the United Kingdom low-flying system. A copy of the chart will be placed in the Library of the House.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases have occurred of unauthorised entry of aircraft into the highlands restricted area, in contravention of Statutory Instrument 1981 No. 1171; and what action was taken against the aircrew involved.

Mr. Hanley

Military aircraft are not subject to Statutory Instrument 1981 No. 1171.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the titles, dates and type of aircraft involved in all planned RAF participation in flag and similar air exercises in north America over the next 12 months.

Mr. Hanley

The aircraft planned to take part in the exercises are as follows:

Dates–1994 Exercise Aircraft Type
January/February Red Rag 94–2 Tornado GR1s
May/June Maple Flag Jaguars
June/July Cope Thunder/Distant Frontier Tornado GR1s and F3s
August/September Air Warrior Harriers
October/November Red Flag 95–1 Tornado GR1s and F3s

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the rules governing interception of low-flying aircraft by air defence aircraft in flow control areas of the United Kingdom low-flying system. Mr. Hanley: Where air defence aircraft intercept low-flying aircraft in flow control areas of the United Kingdom low-flying system, all aircraft must be flown in compliance with the direction of the flow control.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft, and of what types, took parl in the tactical leadership course at RAF St. Mawgan in October 1992; how many low-level sorties were undertaken; and how many of these were authorised down to a height of 100 ft.

Mr. Hanley

The tactical leadership training course held at RAF St. Mawgan in October 1992 involved six Tornado GR1, five Tornado F3, four Jaguar, four Buccaneer, two Hawk and two Sea Harrier aircraft. One hundred and six low-level sorties were flown overland; none of them were authorised down to a height of 100 ft.

Mr. Redmond

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low-level sorties were flown by British military aircraft in each of the 250 low-flying areas in Germany in each month in 1989.

Mr. Hanley

There were a total of 21,100 recorded entries by British military fixed-wing aircraft into the 250 low-flying areas in the Federal Republic of Germany during 1989. A breakdown by month and area is not available.

Mr. Redmond

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current requirement for Royal Navy Sea Harrier pilots to maintain qualifications to fly at less than 250 ft.

Mr. Hanley

There is no current requirement for Royal Navy Sea Harrier pilots to maintain qualifications to fly at less than 250 ft.

Mr. Redmond

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low-level sorties were flown over the United Kingdom by the two German Air Force Tornados which were deployed to RAF Mildenhall between 19 and 21 July; and what was the minimum authorised altitude for each sortie.

Mr. Hanley

No low-level sorties were flown.

Mr.Redmond

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the purposes of the deployments of two Norwegian Air Force F16s to RAF Lakenheath(a) from 6 to 11 July and (b) from 20 to 22 July; how many low-level sorties they undertook in the United Kingdom; and what was their minimum authorised altitude while flying in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Hanley

The two Norwegian F16 aircraft were deployed to RAF Lakenheath to participate with USAF aircraft in air-to-air training over the North sea. The aircraft did not undertaken any low-level sorties; the minimum height at which they were authorised to fly in the United Kingdom was 2,000 ft.