Written question asked by Desmond Swayne (Conservative) on Tuesday, 8 June 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 22 June 1999. It was answered by Doug Henderson (Labour) on Tuesday, 22 June 1999 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what grounds his Department took legal proceedings against Textron Lycoming in respect of the FADEC computer system.

Answer: Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what grounds his Department took legal proceedings against Textron Lycoming in respect of the FADEC computer system. [86362] Mr. Doug Henderson: MOD took legal action against Boeing Helicopters and Textron Lycoming who were both responsible for an engine overspeed during ground testing of a pre-production FADEC system at the Boeing facility in Wilmington, Delaware which resulted in damage to the MOD owned Chinook helicopter on which the FADEC had been fitted. Following the Wilmington incident, the FADEC software was redesigned before it was introduced on to the Chinook Mk2 and it was therefore of a very different standard from that installed on ZD576 which crashed on the Mull of Kintyre.

Secondary information