David Montagné, edited by Juliette Moreau Alvarez
The trial of Air France and Airbus in the case of the Rio-Paris crash on June 1, 2009 opens Monday in Paris. After years of proceedings, the families of the victims want to clarify once and for all the responsibility of the two companies in the crash of flight AF447 thanks to these two months of trial.
More than 13 years after the crash of the Rio-Paris which killed 228 people, the trial of Air France and Airbus opens Monday before the Paris Criminal Court. A trial that almost did not take place since the investigating judge had dismissed the case. It was the Investigating Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal that decided to prosecute the company and the builder for manslaughter. After years of proceedings and numerous expert reports, the families of the victims will finally be able to obtain answers to their questions.
Pitot probes at the heart of the debate
Many questions revolve around the famous Pitot probes. These metal tubes placed under the aircraft are used to measure the speed of the aircraft. Numerous expert reports have shown that they had iced over, in the middle of a turbulence zone, above the Atlantic. A phenomenon that had totally disoriented the pilots, unable to avoid stalling the aircraft. For the families of the victims, there is no doubt about the cause of this crash.
Me Sébastien Debusy is the lawyer for the association Entraide AF 447: “There is no doubt about the origins of this accident. It starts with the icing of the Pitot probes which occupy the Airbus A330 aircraft. there is no icing, there is no accident”, estimates the lawyer, who hammers his ideas. “The link is obvious, and even if Airbus disputes it, the starting point of this accident is the icing of the Pitot probes.”
But the Court will also have to consider the attitude of Air France. According to the report of the Accident Investigation Office, the company was aware of the malfunction of these probes, and had not sufficiently trained the crews to respond to this problem. On the side of the defendants, we dispute any criminal fault at the origin of the accident. The highly anticipated trial is due to last until December 8.