To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average length of time is for the publication of reports by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch following the air accident under investigation. [119707]
The average length of time taken to publish a report following an AAIB investigation is 28 weeks.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many reports have been published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (a) within 12 months of and (b) more than 12 months after the accident under investigation in each year since 1996. [119710]
The information requested is as follows:
| Number of field and AARF (Form to Pilot) investigations conducted within the UK, broken down by time taken to publish report | ||
| Less than 12 months | More than 12 months | |
| 1996 | 335 | 7 |
| 1997 | 317 | 16 |
| 1998 | 360 | 27 |
| 1999 | 331 | 28 |
| 2000 | 271 | 11 |
| 2001 | 261 | 31 |
| 2002 | 1239 | 21 |
| 1 In addition, there are 29 investigations to be published that are less than 12 months old. | ||
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff were employed in the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in each year since 1996. [119711]
The number of staff employed by the AAIB by year since 1996 is in the table.
| Number | |
| 1996 | 42 |
| 1997 | 44 |
| 1998 | 46 |
| 1999 | 44 |
| 2000 | 44 |
| 2001 | 46 |
| 2002 | 50 |
| 2003 | 46 |
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many personnel, broken down by grade, are employed in the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. [119875]
The number and grades of staff employed by the AAIB on 16 June 2003 is in the table.
| Grade | Number |
| SGB 1 | 2 |
| Divisional Secretary | 1 |
| Personal Secretary | 1 |
| Administration Officer | 5 |
| PGSE | 1 |
| Executive Officer | 3 |
| HPTO | 1 |
| Higher Executive Officer | 1 |
| G7 (Inspectors) | 25 |
| G6 (Principal Inspectors) | 4 |
| G5 (DCIAA) | 1 |
| G4 (CIAA) | 1 |
| Total | 46 |