Source::AP news
Aviation industry heavyweights Airbus and Air France are charged with manslaughter in a trial that opens Monday over the crash of Flight 447 on June 1, 2009. The worst plane crash in Air France history killed people of 33 nationalities and had lasting impact, leading to changes in air safety regulations.
Air France has already compensated families. Investigators argued for dropping the case, but judges overruled them and sent the case to court. Few families in Brazil, which lost 59 citizens in the crash, can afford to travel to France for the trial. The trial is expected to focus on two key factors: the icing over of external sensors called pitot tubes, and pilot error.
The Airbus A330-200 disappeared from radars over the Atlantic Ocean between Brazil and Senegal with 216 passengers and 12 crew members aboard. The first debris was only spotted at sea five days later. And it wasn’t until 2011 that the plane and its black box recorders were located on the ocean floor, in an unprecedented search effort at depths of more than 13,000 feet.
No one risks prison in this case, only the companies are on trial. Each faces potential fines of up to 225,000 euros, a fraction of their annual revenues but they could suffer reputational damage if found criminally responsible. Air France is accused of not having implemented training in the event of icing of the pitot probes despite the risks.
Air France has since changed its training manuals and simulations. Airbus blamed pilot error and told investigators that icing over is a problem inherent to all such sensors.
“They knew and they did nothing, the pilots should never have found themselves in such a situation, they never understood the cause of the breakdown and the plane had become unpalatable.” said Danièle Lamy, president of an association of victims’ families that pushed for a trial.
“The plane had sent messages to the ground about the problem but had not warned the pilots. It’s as if you were driving a car at 130 (kph, about 80 mph), your brakes were no longer working but the car sent the alert to the mechanic and not to the driver” she added.
“The crash forced Airbus and Air France to be more transparent and reactive, noting that the trial will be important for the aviation industry as well as for families. The history of aviation security is made from this, from accidents” said Feldzer._Rss
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