HC Deb 03 February 2000 vol 343 cc660-1W
Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many aircraft, operating on behalf of United Kingdom airlines, flying for hire and reward and not on the United Kingdom register flew into and out of British airspace in 1999. [108079]

Mr. Mullin

During 1999 UK airlines leased 48 foreign registered aircraft for planned periods, varying in length from less than one week up to 12 months. Of these, 43 were leased with crew. In the same year, foreign registered aircraft carried out 249 unplanned substitution flights on behalf of UK carriers whose own aircraft became temporarily unavailable.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the Safety Regulation Group of the CAA will publish guidelines on wiring and flight fire. [108025]

Mr. Mullin

The Civil Aviation Authority and other accredited UK and international bodies have published requirements and guidelines concerning aircraft wiring and the prevention of in-flight fire and smoke for many years.

The UK airworthiness codes already prescribe mandatory requirements for electrical wiring design and installation which are intended to prevent the aircraft as whole being put at risk in the event of wiring faults or serious malfunction of the electrical system or any connected equipment. In particular, there is a requirement that wiring must not be able to create a fire or smoke hazard under temporary or continuous fault conditions. Demonstration of compliance with these requirements is required for all aircraft. Also, British Standards Institute and European aeronautical cable specifications and standards define flammability and toxicity requirements for aircraft wiring, as well as defining standardised methods of testing aircraft wire.

In addition to the mandatory requirements, CAA have also published guidelines on electrical wiring and electrical protection. For example, the CAA Civil Aircraft Airworthiness Information and Procedures (CAP562) contain instructions on inspection and testing of electrical circuits, installation and maintenance of electrical cables, protection against electrostatic discharge, care and maintenance of electrical power supplies, electrical cable failure and procedures for resetting thermal circuit breakers.

These requirements and guidelines are well established and well known throughout the UK aviation industry. In addition, the CAA proposes to submit to the Joint Aviation Authorities by September 2000 a consolidated version of its established guidelines concerning aircraft wiring and the prevention of in-flight fire and smoke, for promulgation throughout the JAA member states.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many instances of pressure on commercial pilots to lower safety standards have been registered in the confidential reporting system in the last 12 months. [108031]

Mr. Mullin

The UK Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP) is run by the CHIRP Charitable Trust. The January 2000 edition of CHIRP's publication "Feedback" contains a "Key Word analysis" of reports received in 1999, which indicates that the key words 'commercial pressure' appeared in 7 per cent. of the 141 reports received that year in the flight deck category. The analysis notes that in view of the voluntary nature of the reporting process, the results have no statistical significance.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps the Government are taking to ensure that rudders of UK-registered 737 aircraft are fault free. [108026]

Mr. Mullin

The United States' Federal Aviation Administration is the regulatory authority responsible for overseeing the safe design of Boeing aircraft and for issuing information necessary to maintain their continued airworthiness. The Federal Aviation Administration has issued Airworthiness Directives covering both inspections of the Boeing 737 rudder system as well as revisions to flight crew operating procedures. These directives are intended to reduce the likelihood of possible rudder system faults compromising the aircraft's safety.

The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority requires that any Federal Aviation Administration directives applicable to Boeing 737 aircraft are complied with by UK operators and carries out regular surveys to monitor, and if necessary, enforce compliance. Although the Authority reserves the right to vary Federal Aviation Administration directives for the UK fleet, it has had no cause, to date, to impose additional requirements with respect to the Boeing 737 rudder system.