Vol. 503 No. 1
28 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the report, if any, she has received from the Irish Aviation Authority on the recent spate of life threatening accidents at Dublin Airport; if she will publish the report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9136/99]
There have been two recent accidents involving ground personnel at Dublin Airport. The statutory responsibility for the investigation of aviation accidents lies with the Air Accident Investigation Unit of my Department and not with the Irish Aviation Authority. An accident is considered to be an aviation accident if it is an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards that aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all persons have disembarked.
One of the two recent accidents, which occurred on 22 January 1999, falls under this definition and is being investigated by officials of the Air Accident Investigation Unit. It occurred when a ground handling agent was struck by a tow truck while the aircraft was being pushed back prior to taxying for take-off. The report of the investigation into this accident will be published on completion, in accordance with normal practice. I expect that the report will be available within a couple of months.
The other accident, on 11 March 1999, does not come within the definition of an aviation accident, as there was nobody on the aircraft with the intention of flight at the time. The accident occurred when a technician was partially sucked into a jet engine during engine ground runs for maintenance purposes while the aircraft concerned was stationary. Officials of the Air Accident Investigation Unit were informed of this accident immediately after it occurred. They ensured that the matter was brought to the attention of the Health and Safety Authority, which is responsible for investigating industrial accidents, and they further verified that the Health and Safety Authority was investigating the accident.
