Military Aircraft: Wales

Ministry of Defence written question – answered at on 23 January 2020.

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Photo of Liz Saville-Roberts Liz Saville-Roberts Shadow PC Spokesperson (Home Affairs), Shadow PC Spokesperson (Women and Equalities) , Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader, Shadow PC Spokesperson (Justice), Shadow PC Spokesperson (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many incidents of (a) irresponsible and (b) reckless flying have been reported (a) on the Machynlleth Loop and (b) in Wales in each of the last five years; and what steps he is taking to ensure that pilots behave appropriately and responsibly.

Photo of Anne-Marie Trevelyan Anne-Marie Trevelyan Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The information is not held in the format requested.

The Defence Flying Complaints Investigations Team (DFCIT) is charged with investigating instances of military low flying complaints reported by members of the public. The table below gives the number of investigations undertaken for the whole of Wales and the number of occasions that were identified as a breach of flying regulations.

Year

2017

2018

2019

Number of Investigations

10

12

4

Number of Breaches

0

1

0

All RAF pilots receive extensive training to ensure they operate in accordance with the appropriate low flying regulations and this training is re-emphasised throughout their careers. These stringent regulations are in place in order to protect the public, our aircrew and aircraft. All aspects of flight safety are kept under continuous review. Aircrew are not permitted to carry out manoeuvres beyond their proven capabilities, or those of the aircraft. All our pilots are constantly assessed to ensure that high standards of professionalism are maintained.

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