HC Deb 03 July 2002 vol 388 cc353-5W
Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what work has been conducted under HSE supervision for(a) Railtrack, (b) British Transport Police and (c) other rail industry companies and bodies in relation to accident investigation into the (i) Hatfield rail crash, (ii) Ladbroke Grove rail crash and (iii) Potter's Bar rail crash; who the contractor was in each case; what the nature of the work was; and if he will make a statement. [65368]

Mr. Jamieson

In addition to work undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) internal laboratory, HSE commissioned the following work from external contractors:

aircraft flying from Amsterdam to Bristol passing over a live Army artillery exercise on Salisbury Plain; and what action they took. [65198]

Mr. Jamieson

The incident occurred at 10:30 hrs BST on 19 June. The Fokker 70 was detected by the MOD's Boscombe radar. On detection, Boscombe immediately invoked the Clear Range Procedure to ensure that activity in the Danger Area ceased before the aircraft penetrated the airspace, and informed NATS. As the aircraft was approaching its Bristol destination, and firing in the Danger Areas had been suspended, NATS permitted the aircraft to complete its journey. NATS subsequently initiated a full investigation into the incident which is also being examined by the CAA.

Mr. Key

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures are in place to ensure that National Air Traffic Services are informed of(a) military flying exercises and (b) artillery firing exercises in the vicinity of Salisbury Plain. [651951

Mr. Jamieson

Civil/military co-ordination is well established in the UK: major military flying and artillery firing exercises at Army ranges such as those on the Salisbury Plain are pre-planned with involvement from National Air Traffic Services. Such exercises are notified to airspace users by means of Airspace Co-ordination Notices issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The CAA also convey information about the activation of Danger Areas through the issue of British Islands Daily Nav Warnings. The two particular Danger Areas penetrated by the KLM Fokker 70 are active 24 hours a day and hence no notice of activation would be required. All Danger Areas are promulgated in the UK Aeronautical Information Publication and are shown on the aeronautical charts.