HC Deb 28 October 1996 vol 284 cc26-7W
Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the nine F3 Tornados referred to in his answer of 16 October,Official Report, column 1094, had been refurbished by British Aerospace, Warton, Lancashire, by means of (a) fitting a new mid-section fuselage taken from an F2 Tornado and (b) making good directly the previously damaged fuselage mid-section. [786]

Mr. Arbuthnot

All nine of the Tornado aircraft to which I referred in my answer of 16 October were refurbished by means of fitting centre fuselage sections taken from Tornado F2 aircraft held in store.

Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the same-day authorisation to fly the F3 Tornado that crashed at Blackpool on 28 September constituted the full normal manufacturers' certificate of airworthiness. [780]

Mr. Arbuthnot

The full and normal certification was provided by British Aerospace as contractor in respect of this aircraft, concurrently with the Ministry of Defence authorisation provided by my Department's principal quality assurance officer at British Aerospace, Warton, where the aircraft was being refurbished.