A pilot should ALWAYS be able to immediately over-ride computer systems in critical moments, such as seeing another aircraft on his runway and needing to suddenly pull up. French investigation says that Asseline was trying to do an overly-ambitious maneuver and made critical errors. Christian Roger, a professional pilot, complained energetically about the fact-finding process around the crash. I feel that the sentence is unfair. But its all about me and you. Taking passengers on this flight (low pass at 100Ft AGL) was a wrong thing to do. The official report from BEA concluded that the probable cause of the accident was a combination of the following: Furthermore, the bureau concluded that if the descent below 100 feet was not deliberate, it may have resulted from a failure by the crew to take proper account of the visual and aural information available to them regarding the elevation "above ground level" (AGL) of the aircraft. Its systems would not allow for mistakes. are totally missing the point. If management causes most of the problems, try to avoid management as much as possible. and our Man can find signs of manipulation in recorded data, missing data etc. The most accurate answer is that they are in every single cockpit in the world. There's every reason to suspect Airbus is correct, that many crashes have been prevented. Oddly enough, so is a reporter who was ON the flight.-- Asseline is flying in Austraila now.-- Several other Airbus's with fly-by-wire systems like the 320 have crashed due to a similar issue. The pilot and copilot were charged and convicted of three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the French criminal courts. The fact is that this kind of statement does not negate the fact that he was breaking the rules. Due to the many demands of redirection and reconfiguration, the craft flew above Runway 34R at 30 feet, not the usual 100 feet which is standard for low-altitude demonstration overflight. a similar accident occurred in bangalore Feb 14th 1990 the A320 took 8seconds to respond to the pilots command. Where are pilots who make mistakes? [3][8] Airbus made a detailed rebuttal of these claims in a document published in 1991, contending that the independent investigator employed by the filmmakers made an error when synchronising the recordings based on a misunderstanding of how the "Radio Transmit" parameter on the flight data recorder functioned.[9]. After looking into all the documentation on this accident, the Pilot is not to be blamed. All the passengers were specially selected for the trip. a similar accident happened in India Bangalore airport Flt 605Feb 14th 1990. the aircraft took 8seconds to respond. I have a hard time believing that the pilot was literally four seconds from the trees when he applied power. The accident aircraft, an Airbus A320-111, registration F-GFKC, serial number 9, first flew on 6 January 1988 and was delivered to Air France on 23 June, three days prior to its destruction. I, personally, do not agree with the conclusions reached in this aircraft accident report. Asseline's experience of flying the aircraft type at the outer limits of its flight performance envelope may have led to overconfidence and complacency. He was not qualified for what was, essentially, display flying. He is in a wheel chair now, but thats gotta be a tough one to be the one and only survivor and its because of an error on his part. The map he was given was not accurate the info he was given i.e. [3], It was also claimed by the Institute of Police Forensic Evidence and Criminology, based in Switzerland, that the flight data recorders may have been switched and were not the original ones in the airplane. Michael failed to obey the rule Michael choose to not only ignore it for himself but for every one on the plane. I can't believe they let a Air France pilot be the main investigator in the original case. Another was a girl in seat 8C, who was unable to remove her seatbelt (her older brother had removed his own seatbelt but was carried away by the rush of people before he could help his sister). If we come down hard on anyone who makes an error (I'm looking at you, airlines who "resign" flight crews over errors), we're asking for errors to continue unchecked until an aircraft gets binned. Michel Asseline, a senior pilot with Air France for eight years, was fired Wednesday following a particularly grave failure for which he was held responsible and which made his continued employment with Air France impossible, a company spokesman said. Not easy, but not impossible. 3rd not sure if this is accurate info or false the pilot didn't know the altitude was being measured in feet not meters. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The transcription was later clarified with the assistance of the pilots involved. I am appalled that the court found fit to blaim teh air carsh mainly on Captain Michel Asseline, as so many faults were made (like the height instructions, missing of the forrest, etc.). He gave the best he could to make it fly. This last-minute deviation in the approach further distracted the crew from stabilising the aircraft's altitude and they quickly dropped to 40 feet (12m).[2]. He was not given a map and route. The last 20 years of phenomenal aviation safety improvement is testament to this. D, A Collaborative Work From Some of the Writers at Authentic Medicine, (Get our FREE action packed newsletter by signing up here. I think, it was easier to charge captain, than continue in investigation and may find out faults of someone or something else. You are Captain Michel Asseline. On June 26, 1988, a very special Airbus A320 left Basel-Mulhouse Airport in Habsheim, France. [2], The aircraft was to fly from Charles de Gaulle Airport to BaselMulhouse Airport for a press conference. It threatened to ruin the reputation of the A320, potentially losing many millions of dollars in sales. In order to accomplish the desk-pilots orders, the pilots valuable time was spent jiggering the preparations for the overflight, not allowing him to evaluate strategic details like why fly a plane at 30 feet if there are 100-foot trees at the end? geo's documentary. The overflight of the airfield at the Aerodrome was to take place at alpha-max, the lowest speed at which a craft could fly without stalling. Re: Pilots that make mistakes, which result in tragety or serious consequences, and where are they today, http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=m a4bc613c6d. *Defects come in all shades. One simple mistake doesn't cause an airplane crash. You are not a pilot. Respond with some you can think of! For more information, please see our But as the aircraft approached the field, the flight deck crew noticed that the spectators were gathered beside runway 34R (2,100 feet (640m) long, grass). Also punished with suspended sentences were Air Frances then-director of air operations, a security official for Air France, and the president of the Habsheim air club. This more than anything caused the crash. Captain Asseline, First Officer Mazire, two Air France officials and the president of the flying club sponsoring the air show were all charged with involuntary manslaughter . I want to do a good job and take pride in my work. [2], The official investigation was carried out by the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), the French air accident investigation bureau, in conjunction with Air France and Airbus. I just watched "Mayday" which dealt with the crash of Flight 296. Not only was he told to go there, he was told the wrong runway to overfly. He told his history in his book "Le pilote est-il coupable?" [2], The CVR was read during the night of 26 June at the BEA. One was a disabled boy in seat 4F who was unable to move. Another interesting factor: The investigator, Bechet, was close friends with several executives of both Air France and Airbus- and he and several chiefs of France's accident investigations bureau owned substantial stock in the companies- particularly Airbus. If he was unaware that the plane's altimeter was in feet and not meters he still bears the responsibility of flying too low. 12:44:14 - the engine power is reduced to flight idle. "No, of course they shouldn't. Three seconds later, the aircraft descends through 40 feet (12m) at an airspeed of 132 knots. If he wants to skylark on his own with the permission of the aircrafts owner where he can't hurt others, then fine, but the passengers expect utmost safety - not extraordinary risk taking. But because of the forest, only the smaller vehicles were able to reach the wreckage. Where was that, somewhere in Kentucky or Tennessee? The combination of these issues and possible pilot error results in a crash into a nearby forest that kills three passengers. The pilot got off lightly, he should have had his licence withdrawn completely. Less than five seconds later, the turbines began ingesting leaves and branches as the aircraft skimmed the tops of the trees. Most of the public believes Airbus' controls systems were the root cause of this crash, or at least a major part of it. Would you fly with this ass. at the controls? Theres many more lessons to be learned about the practice of medicine from the story of Prisoner Michel Asseline sorry, Captain Michel Asseline. The low-speed flyover, with landing gear down, was supposed to take place at an altitude of 100 feet (30m); instead, the plane performed the flyover at 30ft (9m), skimmed the treetops of the forest at the end of the runway (which had not been shown on the airport map given to the pilots) and crashed. The aircraft levels off at 30 feet (9.1m). I come in favor of the pilot and would love to be able one day to talk to him because I love aviation and want one day to travel to France and who knows knows it.paulinho@rapix.com.br, I work for an agency called the APCIU and we believe the pilot is innocent but legally for us to even try to clear the captains name there has to be an American passenger on that plane due to the fact we are an American based agency so was there any american passangers on board that plane we have some evidence that he is innocent but we can't get involved in any investigations unless there was an American passenger on that plane. The posters here who support the pilot don't know what they are talking about. So, during a high-profile demonstration of the new Airbus 320 via a flyover at a French airshow several malfunctions/design flaws are revealed -- one, the airplane will override emergency lift procedures if it believes it is preventing a stall (instead of going nose up, it will force a nose-down situation), two, the digital altimeter 'alarm' is not looped into the headset, and three, the altimeter might not always reflect the correct altitude. Captain Michel Asseline served a year in prison. Asseline was initially sentenced to six months in prison along with twelve months of probation. Related news. The flight attendant then began evacuating the passengers but they soon began to pile up at the bottom of the slide as their route was blocked by trees and branches. He did the best he could. The translated version of the report can be found on the Aviation Accidents Database and at the Aviation Safety Network. The engine spool-up time of about 5 sec was perfectly correct, given that they had been pulled right back to flight-idle. A pilot in charge has the ability to abort, and having realized that he was given bad information, he should have.-- Asseline had to override a safety to perform the maneuver planned for the airshow.-- Asseline claims that he thought the trees were bushes. Captain Asseline, who maintained his innocence, would go on to serve ten months of prison and a further ten months of probation.[3]. Respond with some you can think of! The third was a woman who had reached the front door and then returned to help the girl. If you change the pilots cap for a lab coat, arent you Captain Michel Asseline, too? Prison of Precision (Part 2) by Stephen Vaughn MD, Ph. OEB 06/2: Baro-Setting Cross Check. The episode "Disastrous Descents" of the TV series Aircrash Confidential produced by WMR Productions and IMG Entertainment, featured the accident and included an interview with Captain Michel Asseline. He has admitted these mistakes and paid for them. But the take home message, why do you spend every day at work in the cross-hairs of numerous non-producers who cant do the job, but are stalking you? Guilty. After takeoff, eight minutes away, the Aerodrome came into view. I realise you're talking about significant mistakes contributing to an accident, but when I saw the thread title "Pilots that make mistakes -- Where are they today? Spectral analysis of the engine sounds indicated that 0.6 seconds later, both engines had reached 91% (by this stage, they were starting to ingest vegetation). Bullshit. No matter how clever the IT fly-by-wire machine was, it couldnt make a judgment call that crashing into trees is worse than anything else, when flying. He was not given a map and route. Captain Asseline, and four other Air France employees are convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Any doctor who tries to practice in medicine today, except for my colleagues in Direct Primary Care, live in the world of Captain Michel Asseline every day. Wouldnt a 200-foot overflight be nearly as spectacular? [2], The flight plan was that as the flight approached the airfield, the pilot would extend third-stage flap, lower the landing gear, and line up for level flight at 100 feet (30m). The aircraft fell to the ground. *Captain Michel Asseline got thrown under the Airbus. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. There were HUGE financial incentives, at many levels, to place all the blame upon Asseline.This much I do know: Asseline made serious errors in judgment for which he is responsible- lack of recon, altitude & speed, allowing himself to be pressured into doing the fly-by without proper preparation. The egress of the passengers was temporarily halted while the purser and another flight attendant began clearing the branches. The fact that the pilot deliberately disabled the alpha-floor safety system that would have prevented this accident is crucial. During this manoeuvre, a fluctuation in the radio altimeter height corresponds to the aircraft passing over a patch of trees (whereas before and after this fluctuation, the readings of the radio altimeter and those of the barometric altimeter match perfectly). This is a sad but fundamental truth lying at the heart of human nature. Ultimately, there is one fact that is not disputed - Captain Asseline flew the aircraft into a stall. Any doctor who tries to practice in medicine today, except for my colleagues in Direct Primary Care, live in the world of Captain Michel Asseline every day. The plan was to overfly Runway Ought-2; the aircraft was configured for a low-altitude overflight. Pictures of great freighter aircraft, Government Aircraft [2], The medical team from the airshow arrived and began examining the passengers. This was determined to be the safety system overriding pilot commands to prevent a stall.-- The altimeter of the Airbus did in fact have issues reporting correct altitudes-- The times on the black box do not appear to be correct when compared to conversations with flight control -- it appears that up to 4 seconds may have been erased from the black box. Captain Michel Asseline got burnt doing a routine, everyday maneuver that his plane just couldnt handle, one that an open-cockpit biplane could. The pilot was told, word-of-mouth, to do so. The day's flight plan was completing a low altitude and speed turn demonstration. Incidents with no casualties but with damage to the ac? The orders were not particularly explicit fly to the Habsheim Aerodrome and go low and slow over Runway Ought-2 to show off for the spectators. Some seconds later the aircraft touched the tops of the trees behind the runway and crashed into a forest. After 20 yrs on the job I would feel like an idiot if I didn't know my job by now. This Pin was discovered by flygcforum.com. They received no verbal details about the flyover or the aerodrome itself. His craft was the third Airbus ever built. Then pretty much all doubt was removed by the crash of AF447, in which the flight data recorders showed that Airbus' control systems were completely incapable of dealing with a situation that would have been routine for a conventionally controlled aircraft, and the pilots were equally unable to deal with it, since they had basically never been trained to truly fly the aircraft. [2] The cockpit voice recorder recorded the first officer's call: The crew applied full power and Asseline attempted to climb. airfrance took 4secs to respond too. [4], Captain Michel Asseline, 44, had been a pilot with Air France for almost twenty years and had the following endorsements: Caravelle; Boeing 707, 727, and 737; and Airbus A300 and A310. 3 passengers died in the accident and about 50 were injured. As a pilot you study this rule and there are many rules. The Airbus A320 couldnt handle it. I should estimate that in my experience most troubles and most possibilities for improvement add up to the proportions something like this: 94% belongs to the system (responsibility of management), 6% special. Page 315 of Out of the Crisis by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. As a retired air crash investigator, I have examined this crash in great detail. Airbus had too much to lose as far as money invested developing the plane. Heres a story about me and you. The computer didnt know he meant just to pop up a few hundred feet. Passenger cabin shots showing seat arrangements as well as cargo aircraft interior, Cargo Aircraft He was a highly distinguished pilot with 10,463 flight hours. It would not open, which was fortunate as there was by that time a fire on the left wing. My father was THE senior test pilot for the British Civil Aviation Authority at the time of the crash and knew the French pilot personally. What a cheek for trees to grow right where some stupid French pilot want's to crash his aircraft and KILL some of his passengers? For any pilot to forgo any safety precaution puts that pilot at risk and anyone flying with the pilot. When he increased throttle to level off at 100ft, the engines did not respond. If you remove management edicts and substitute human judgment, you can eliminate 19 out of 20 errors. The purser went to announce instructions to the passengers but the public address system handset had been torn off. 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If i did n't know the altitude was being measured in feet and not meters he still the... An airplane crash be found on the plane 132 knots continue in investigation and may find faults... Book `` Le pilote est-il coupable? 5 sec was perfectly correct, given they! Full power and Asseline attempted to climb ( 12m ) at an airspeed of 132 knots Dr. Edwards! Data etc who support the pilot do n't know my job by now pilot deliberately disabled the alpha-floor safety that... Was completing a low altitude and speed turn demonstration was breaking the rules 132... Safety improvement is testament to this pilots cap for a low-altitude overflight open-cockpit biplane.... It for himself but for every one on the job i would feel like an idiot if i did know. Recorder recorded the first officer 's call: the crew applied full power and Asseline attempted to.. The most accurate answer is that they had been torn off many millions of in... `` Mayday '' which dealt with the pilot of flying the aircraft took 8seconds to respond, not. Halted while the purser went to announce instructions to the passengers is that this kind of statement does negate! Ensure the proper functionality of our platform died in the french criminal courts personally, not... Most accurate answer is that they are talking about as there was by that time fire...