§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the outcome of the review of the first six months of operation of the pipeline inspection notification system; and if he will place a copy of the report in the Library.
§ Mr. SoamesThe review of the pipeline inspection notification system was carried out by a working group chaired by the National Air Traffic Service on which my Department, the Civil Aviation Authority, the British Helicopter Advisory Board, helicopter operators and companies making use of pipeline inspection services were all represented.
The group's main recommendations were that the system be made more flexible to allow more precise notifications of pipeline inspection activity, and that details of the areas in which military fast jets are permitted to fly below 250 ft be incorporated in the revised AIC.
No formal report was produced. The group's recommendations were, however, incorporated into the revised system which was notified to air users in the aeronautical information circular 73/1994 issued by the Civil Aviation Authority on 30 June 1994.