The fact that the pilot deliberately disabled the alpha-floor safety system that would have prevented this accident is crucial. To confirm, a close friend and colleague worked with M. Asseline for a simulator acceptance, and assessed him also as over-confident to the point of being arrogant. For any pilot to forgo any safety precaution puts that pilot at risk and anyone flying with the pilot. 12:45:15 - the aircraft, now at 90 feet (27m), begins a deviation to the right (maximum bank angle: 30) to line up with the grass strip 34R. I mostly blame the French courts for adding insult to injury and imposing a prison sentence on a man who may have faults, but definitely is not guilty of manslaughter. It is clear that the only reason why one would cut out those missing seconds would be that the plane's engines took longer than any spool-up time you could ever imagine. One simple mistake doesn't cause an airplane crash. He was flying with visual flight rules. Air France would have just replaced him. I thing, there was no evidence, that captain Asseline made a fault before crash of plane. Not unless their was prior approval by the proper authorities that made the rules that allowed for him to break it. Have you ever feared losing your job? 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 . Some individual in Texas, I read a little excerpt from book written by a man whom I quite dislike,. Captain Michel Asseline served a year in prison. This was to showcase the The others were sentenced to probation. 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). Plane" and included an interview with Captain Michel Asseline, survivors, and accident investigators.[10]. The crash was a great embarrassment to Air France and Airbus, a European company with deep roots in France. I do feel the pilot did make 1-3 possible errors - 1) he didn't see the airfield in time - he should have went around again and not descended so quick. 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. Do you think Airbus truly covered up a serious flaw in their aircraft? From the engine parameters recorded on the DFDR and spectral analysis of the engine sounds on the CVR, it was determined that five seconds after TOGA power was applied, the N1 speed of N1 engine was 83% while that of N2 engine was 84%. It's about commercial aviation, and I've tried to include all the relevant facts for you to draw conclusions. He was the lead test pilot for the A320 in its development. 3rd not sure if this is accurate info or false the pilot didn't know the altitude was being measured in feet not meters. Most of the public believes Airbus' controls systems were the root cause of this crash, or at least a major part of it. The episode "Blaming the Pilot" of the TV series Survival in the Sky featured the accident. The combustion chambers clogged and the engines failed. But upon seeing the Aerodrome, the pilot saw that the audience were gathered elsewhere, on Runway 34R. . I find it ironic that so many people blame the captain and no mention of Air France who planned the entire thing! I feel he should have radioed in and asked if it was acceptable to switch runways. My father was in no doubt that the pilot was solely responsible for the crash, as M. Assline was well known to be over-confident in his appreciation of his flying abilities by all who worked with him (ie: a 'cocky' sort). 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? It's been implied by jealous coworkers I'm cocky. Yesterday, I watched the tv document of disaster. 12:45:30 - nose-up attitude increases to 7. Theres many more lessons to be learned about the practice of medicine from the story of Prisoner Michel Asseline sorry, Captain Michel Asseline. 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? The Airbus A320 couldnt handle it. At 450 feet, the pilot monitoring the captain flying informed him that the plane would reach 100 feet at 14:45. I think this is a great thread, I also wonder what happens to pilots after landing incidents etc, like TK incident at KTM what happens to pilots after such incidents? I have a hard time believing that the pilot was literally four seconds from the trees when he applied power. Do you feel that Captain Asseline should have aborted the flyover? A website, http://www.crashdehabsheim.net/ has been set up to analyze the scandal. The computer didnt know he meant just to pop up a few hundred feet. Decisions can only be made after a proper investigation. Pilots that make mistakes -- Where are they today? He was a highly distinguished pilot with 10,463 flight hours. 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. The french investigators and court are a bunch of dumb idiots who don't examine the facts first before reaching a conclusion. We dont give your email out and we dont spam you. Couldn't even begin to imagine what he has gone through. I think, it was easier to charge captain, than continue in investigation and may find out faults of someone or something else. Asseline claims that this indicated a problem with the aeroplane's fly-by-wire system rather than pilot error. His choice to put the safety of the passengers at risk was and is the defining point I wish to make. Now he was not planning on landing so these were of no interest to him.So then what safety reason would he have to go around? He has admitted these mistakes and paid for them. 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. Captain Michel Asseline "44" Second Officer Pierre Mazire "45" Captain Asseline has logged 10,463 flight hours while First Officer Maziere . Airport overviews from the air or ground, Tails and Winglets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_296. Captain Michel Asseline asserted that the altimeter read 30m (100'). The egress of the passengers was temporarily halted while the purser and another flight attendant began clearing the branches. Help Center Contributor Zone Polls. In the US it's called ASAP. If you remove management edicts and substitute human judgment, you can eliminate 19 out of 20 errors. He exposed multiple anomalies, not to say lies, in the experts' evidence and in the data of the crash all of which pointed to a very high level, state inspired plot to whitewash the aircraft in the crash and confirmed what the pilot had been saying all along. He joined the pilot's defense team. 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. . Plain stupidity! This more than anything caused the crash. Where are pilots who make mistakes? [2], By this time, the fire had entered the right side of the fuselage through the damaged floor section between seat rows 10 and 15. They received no verbal details about the flyover or the aerodrome itself. You sound very biased towards the pilot.No wonder you completely missed the point that the Flight Data Recorder's data was tampered with, with the crucial seconds intentionally cut off from the magnetic tape that would confirm the plane's delay in response to his increase in thrust in his attempt to lift the plane over the treetops. It threatened to ruin the reputation of the A320, potentially losing many millions of dollars in sales. and our The translated version of the report can be found on the Aviation Accidents Database and at the Aviation Safety Network. Ascending at such an angle would lead to the planes stalling within minutes. All the passengers were specially selected for the trip. The evidence is clear - the plane was at alphamax (high angle of attack), at very low airspeed, and with engine set to idle. The A320 had been recently introduced, and Flight 296 was the first passenger flight of the A320. 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. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Five individuals, including the captain and first officer, were later found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Some pilots may not want to go back into the cockpit due to fear and mental trauma from their prior acts or cultural pressure to not do so. The DFDR was read the same night by the Brtigny sur Orge Flight Test Centre: Investigators found that the aircraft had been airworthy, that its weight and centre-of-gravity had been within limits, and that there was no evidence of mechanical or electronic systems failure. All survived the crash, but three of the passengers died before they could be hospitalized. He was destined to fail. 3 passengers died in the accident and about 50 were injured. This particular flight was the A320's first passenger flight (most of those on board were journalists and raffle winners). I don't know how passenger survived. And air law states that 500ft is the minimum height for air shows. Captain Asseline, First Officer Mazire, two Air France employees and the sponsor of the event, president of the local flight club, were charged with the crime of involuntary manslaughter, of the group Captain Asseline was the only one who ended up in jail convicted to 10 months in prison, while the rest ended up on probation. He was never given the chance. Nor, then, were his passengers. He was President of the leading French pilots union, the SNPL, at the time an Airbus A320 crashed into trees at Habsheim in Eastern France in June 1988. I take my hat off to the captain. And that's a big systematic default. Cookie Notice It is a fact of life that no human is perfect, and every one will make errors at some stage. Any experienced pilot, or physician for that matter, smells disaster. The aircraft was on ground for a week for saftety checks and the captain was downgraded for 2 years to a FO. He was a highly distinguished pilot with 10,463 flight hours. Anytime there are questions suspicions involving large corporations and/or government power, one can usually follow the money to find the truth. [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. It threatened to ruin the reputation of the A320, potentially losing many millions of dollars in sales. I am Captain Michel Asseline. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. He didnt familiarize himself with the airfield as he should have and he must take responsibility for flying at only 30 feet instead of 100ft. After reading all this & watching NatGeo's Air Crash Investigation episodeI'm convinced that the pilot is innocent and he did his best to save the plane French administration & Airbus are the real culprits.. He was the lead test pilot for the A320 in its development. ), The Prison of Precision by Stephen Vaughn MD, Ph.D. He told his history in his book "Le pilote est-il coupable?" Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. [2], The pilots had each had a busy weekend and did not receive the flight plan until the morning of the flight. He knowingly took the passengers and aircraft into a dangerous situation, purposefully disabled some of the safeties (i.e. But upon seeing the Aerodrome, the pilot saw that the audience were gathered elsewhere, on Runway 34R. Three seconds later, the aircraft descends through 40 feet (12m) at an airspeed of 132 knots. The Captain begins to flare the aircraft (he lifts the nose 4) to level its flight. Aside from the strong evidence that Air France, Airbus and the nation itself may well have had a hand in falsifying data related to the crash, there are several very important points to take away in this very sad and tragic story. Would you fly with this ass. at the controls? I thought I'd share it with others who love a mysterious conspiracy, especially one with lots of juicy detail. A court in Colmar, in eastern France, also sentenced pilot Michel Asseline to 12 additional months, which were suspended. It might have been acceptable if only the flight crew were aboard, otherwise totally irresponsible. Most of the posters here are missing the relevant point. I'm not cocky - I'm just good at my job. This alone would give me as a pilot cause to do a go around. He always could have done a couple fly overs and looped back. The pilot was told, word-of-mouth, to do so. as a pilot my self the rules are for made for a reason they are not to be broken by a pilot for his own or anyone's purpose. And in the end its all a metter of money and intrest. Unprofessional. I'd give the pilot 30-40% responsibility for the crash. If you get blamed for everything, its better to do nothing. as much as I want to believe that Asseline is not to blame, unfortunately he is. You are Captain Michel Asseline. I just saw the nat. The door opened partway, and the emergency escape slide began inflating while it was stuck partly inside the fuselage. But its all about me and you. Airbus should have simply admitted this and moved on. From higher up, the forest at the end of 34R had looked like a different type of grass. *Management often screws around. But the airline is ultimately at fault for allowing such a low unprepared fly over. What is crucial is to understand the threats that can lead to errors, look at how those threats can be mitigated, and have procedures in place that allow errors to be caught and resolved before they become a safety event. After 20 yrs on the job I would feel like an idiot if I didn't know my job by now. For more information, please see our One and a half years after this accident it is still not known why this crash happened. 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. [2] The cockpit voice recorder recorded the first officer's call: The crew applied full power and Asseline attempted to climb. [2] Additionally, the captain was expecting from the flight plan to do the pass over runway 02 (3,281 feet (1,000m) long, paved) and was preparing for that alignment. In reality, that only ensures that one pilot never makes the mistake again. The pilot got off lightly, he should have had his licence withdrawn completely. I've been at my job 20 years - I know my job inside and out. 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. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality of patient care in the VA health care system, ensuring the doctor-patient relationship is maintained and strengthened. 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. Not only was he told to go there, he was told the wrong runway to overfly. Some faceless desk-pilot added on a trip to a tiny airfield on the day of the flight but did not bother to do the hard work of preparing the particulars necessary to do so. As a retired air crash investigator, I have examined this crash in great detail. [5][6], The plane's flight recorders were found still attached in the unburnt tail section. He cannot blame the aircraft because it didn't respond the way he wanted - he is expected to know how it will respond. The captain would slow the aircraft to its minimum flying speed with maximum angle of attack, disable the "alpha floor" (the function that would otherwise automatically increase engine thrust when the angle of attack reached 15) and rely on the first officer to adjust the engine thrust manually to maintain 100 feet. All the passengers survived the initial impact, but a woman and two children died from smoke inhalation before they could escape after struggling to unfasten the seatbelt. He then tried to open the left-side forward door, which was blocked by trees. I have no doubt the pilot was to blame, and the conspiracy theorists (tampering with a black box?) It was the third A320 delivered to Air France, the launch customer.