§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if reports by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch into military accidents are placed in the public domain. [101403]
§ Mr. SpellarThe Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) investigate all accidents involving civil aircraft in the United Kingdom and its reports are published by The Stationary Office. If both 33W military and civil aircraft are involved, a military Board of Inquiry will run in parallel with the AAIB investigation whose report will be published in the usual way.
If a civilian aircraft is not involved, a RAF Board of Inquiry may, if it wishes, seek the assistance of the AAIB to examine the accident site and/or undertake a full or limited wreckage analysis. The AAIB report then forms part of the evidence of the Board of Inquiry. These reports are not published but may be provided to the next of kin in the event of a fatality as an Annexe to the Board of Inquiry findings. The next of kin are not restricted on copying the report further.