Posted on 04/17/2023 8:03:16 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A French court has cleared Air France and Airbus of charges of involuntary manslaughter over a deadly crash in June 2009 which killed all 228 people on board.
The Airbus A330 operated by Air France stalled during a storm and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.
The court said even if errors had been committed, a causal link between them and the crash could not be proved.
Families of the victims reacted angrily to the acquittal.
They appeared stunned when the verdict was read out at the end of the lengthy public trial.
Danièle Lamy, the president of the association which represents the victims, said the families were "disgusted" that their long fight for justice had come to nothing.
It was the first trial for corporate involuntary manslaughter to be held in France.
Air France and Airbus had always denied the charges, for which they were facing a maximum fine of €225,000 (£200,000; $247,000).
The companies said pilot error was to blame for the crash.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
YOU CAN’T FIGHT CITY HALL...................
Seems like dirt daubers plugged up the pitot.
Air France - gov’t owned
Airbus - gov’t owned
Not guilty by government appointed courts
This is probably the best series about air disasters
Mayday: Flight 477 Vanishes Over The Atlantic Ocean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4KAyPPWpSk
This is a weird verdict to say the least. Air France admitted that their pilots screwed up. It’s pretty clear they weren’t properly trained to handle this relatively minor problem.
That said, I’m not really clear on what the point is of putting a company on trial for a criminal offense. After all, you can’t put a company in jail.
Well, you can bankrupt them. But the fines they would’ve been subjected to don’t seem that high. I guess it would make going after them in civil court easier for those who lost a loved one. Assuming that’s how the court system works in France.
It always amazes me when ever I see experienced pilots nose up in a stall. Unless you know EXACTLY what is happening with the aircraft (speed, orientation, lift, flight controls) to 100% certainty, your first instinct should be to nose down!
Stall?, the thottle is your friend.
There was a time when the favorite venue to bring lawsuits against airlines was Chicago. If any connection could be established that’s were the plaintiffs would turn.
Unless the airline or manufacturer were grossly negligent, I don’t see how this can be blamed on them. It is my understanding that in the U.S. a company is responsible for accidents caused by their employees, but not criminally responsible unless the officers acted criminally. For instance by hiring unqualified flight crews to save a few dollars, and falsifying the employment records.
“Stall?, the thottle is your friend.”
The pitch of the aircraft controls speed.
If you have engines that put out way more power than the weight of the aircraft you are flying, don’t even think about using the throttle in this case.
Why?
Once an aircraft gets into situation called the Area of Reverse Command, no amount of throttle is going to help you.
The crew was receiving totally erroneous air speed readings and should have recognized this and disregarded the readings. I have lost my airspeed indicator twice and simply flew my aircraft by attitude.
The accident happened at night and the pilots had no visual reference to the horizon. They had at least two artificial horizons that were working perfectly by which they could have flown the aircraft safely. 100% pilot error was this crash.
It blows my mind that 228 may have perished because of an insect. And it does not seem implausible at all.
Remember this one
Pilots literally stalled a perfectly functional airplane, I’m spite of the systems warning them they were stalling they continued to pull up on the sticks. Main captain was off duty he did wake up and enter the cockpit and figured it out and ordered the pilots on duty to nose down but it was already too late.
I don’t see how airbus would have culpability, I don’t recall any mechanical malfunction or design error being part of the cause of this accident.
The claim by the court that “ The court said even if errors had been committed, a causal link between them and the crash could not be proved.” Is a lie.. the pilots errors were the direct cause of this crash.
Court chose to protect airbus and not Justice… but no one should be surprised.. US courts did same thing with Boeing.. 346 people died in 2 crashed of the 737 max caused completely by design failures and flat out complete fraud committed by Boeing and US courts took a plea from Boeing that ensured no one would face criminal prosecution.
From what I read the copilot who was at the controls at the time was a less experienced African, possibly affirmative action.
Where did you read that?
My bad. That was another flight that also crashed from pilot induced stalling.
Dirt daubers can cause more mayhem than plugging your air conditioner or hot water heater drain line. I recommend Raid Hot Shot for my family.
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