§ Lord Chalfontasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any legal advice was given to the senior Royal Air Force officers responsible for reviewing the conclusions of the Board of Inquiry into the accident involving Chinook Helicopter ZD576 on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994. [HL3473]
§ Lord Jacobsasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 12 July (WA 35) regarding the inquiry into the crash of a Chinook helicopter in the Mull of Kintyre in June 1994, what were the advantages to the crew (a) in terms of safety and (b) in terms of time saving in overflying the Mull rather than following the original flight plan. [HL3482]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanI refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave to the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, on 27 July 2000 (Official Report, columns WA 70–71).
§ Lord Jacobsasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 12 July (WA35) regarding the crash of the Chinook helicopter in June 1994, whilst it can be demonstrated that the original flight plan and the way point change is evidence that the crew did not intend to overfly the Mull, what evidence there is that the crew changed their mind and decided to overfly the Mull; and 147WA whether it is possible to estimate when that decision was made. [HL3585]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThere is no evidence of the decision, if any, that the pilots made to overfly the Mull. However, if overflying the Mull through cloud was indeed their intention they should have established flight at safety altitude under instrument flight rules.