HC Deb 13 January 1997 vol 288 cc114-5W
Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the safety of Boeing 747 aircraft fuel tanks. [10322]

Mr. Bowis

The United States National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident to TWA flight TW800. The cause of the accident has not yet been established although it is the view of the NTSB that the centre wing fuel tank exploded as part of the accident sequence. The source of ignition for the explosion has yet to be identified and the three theories—bomb, missile and aircraft malfunction—remain open.

Under International Civil Aviation Organisation rules, primary responsibility for promulgating information necessary to maintain the continued airworthiness of an aircraft type rests with the state of design. In the case of the Boeing 747 the US Federal Aviation Administration is the body responsible. As a result of its investigation the NTSB has made some interim safety recommendations to the FAA. If, following consideration of the NTSB safety recommendations, the FAA determines that mandatory corrective action is necessary, it will issue an airworthiness directive. It is the policy of the Civil Aviation Authority automatically to endorse all such directives and to ensure that the operators of relevant UK registered aircraft undertake the prescribed action.