One of the lessons I learned from the creation of this blog is that a large interest for crashes and air disasters exist amongst readership. As I already mentioned, the work of the investigators is not easy, very time consuming, and base on many sources of information (testimonies when available, black-boxes, wreckage analysis, expert works, ...).
These reports are the only valid pieces of information when discussing air disasters. Any other published information is based only on speculation, stolen and / or distorted information. Reports are quite complex to read and understand, but they are nevertheless available to public.
So as to familiarize you with such reports, here are some links to the reports published after accidents that attracted lot of media attention. Please feel free to comment if you have any question or remark.
Concorde crash in Gonesse, 25th of July 2000 - French BEA
Ueberlingen mid-air collision, 1st of July 2002 - German DFS
TWA800 in-flight breakup, 17th of July 1996 - US NTSB
I did not select these accidents because they all occurred in July, but because they represent different type of accidents, and have been produced by different investigation agencies. Thus they give an overview of what an investigation report is.
Showing posts with label Crash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crash. Show all posts
Sunday, 26 August 2007
Friday, 3 August 2007
Cockpit recording from TAM Airbus crashed in Sao Paulo Congonhas
The media have been buzzish over the last days, as a transcript from the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) from the TAM airbus 320 that did crash in Sao-Paulo Congonhas has been made public. Apparently it has been read to a congressional commision in Brasil, which from my point of view does not mean public...
Personally, I deeply regret it, for various reasons. At first, the source of this document is unclear. Is it officially released from the investigation team ? I don't think so, such teams tend to work very privately until the report is finalised.
Is it from "a source close to the investigators", as journalists often say when they get stolen information ? The source is not know yet, but the transcript is already published on several websites, with various comments, interpretations, and even some conclusions !
This is exactly the other bad thing I see in having such things published at this stage. This recording is only one piece of the huge set of information that will contribute to the investigations. One can not draw conclusions only on that.
Secondly, even experts will probably argue for months on the exact meaning and content of the recordings. Getting a proper understanding and conclusions on base of a simple transcript is certainly well beyond the capabilities of amateur bloggers (me included) and journalists.
So please, once again, leave the investigation team doing their job in peace. We will discuss later on, when the official report will become public. Anything in between is only speculations.
Personally, I deeply regret it, for various reasons. At first, the source of this document is unclear. Is it officially released from the investigation team ? I don't think so, such teams tend to work very privately until the report is finalised.
Is it from "a source close to the investigators", as journalists often say when they get stolen information ? The source is not know yet, but the transcript is already published on several websites, with various comments, interpretations, and even some conclusions !
This is exactly the other bad thing I see in having such things published at this stage. This recording is only one piece of the huge set of information that will contribute to the investigations. One can not draw conclusions only on that.
Secondly, even experts will probably argue for months on the exact meaning and content of the recordings. Getting a proper understanding and conclusions on base of a simple transcript is certainly well beyond the capabilities of amateur bloggers (me included) and journalists.
So please, once again, leave the investigation team doing their job in peace. We will discuss later on, when the official report will become public. Anything in between is only speculations.
Monday, 23 July 2007
A tribute to Captain Hans Georg Schmid
The swiss pilot Hans Georg Schmid got killed today, in the crash of its experimental aircraft after take-off from Basel (LFSB), on a flight to Oshkosh (KOSH). This was an attempt to re-create part of the original Atlantic Ocean crossing by Charles Lindbergh in 1927.
Hans Georg Schmid used to work as an airline captain for swissair, but he also held several aviation speed records, including speed around the world. More information about him on his website.
He was a major supporter and actor of all flying activities, and his death is an enormous loss for all the community.
All my thougts go to his familly and relatives on this sad day.
PS: once again, only investigation report will contain reliable facts, all what media will report in betwee will be speculation only, disregard it.
Hans Georg Schmid used to work as an airline captain for swissair, but he also held several aviation speed records, including speed around the world. More information about him on his website.
He was a major supporter and actor of all flying activities, and his death is an enormous loss for all the community.
All my thougts go to his familly and relatives on this sad day.
PS: once again, only investigation report will contain reliable facts, all what media will report in betwee will be speculation only, disregard it.
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
Airbus 320 crash in Sao Paulo Congonhas
When I heard about the crash of the TAM Airbus 320 this morning in Sao Paulo, my first thoughts were for the victims, their families, and then to the rescue and support staff.
Then, I wanted to issue kind of a warning via this blog. After each air disaster, the media get frenzy with information they get from anyone and by any way. Given the emotional and mediatic impact of such a crash, but also due to its possible economical impacts, a nasty game could (pessimistic people would say will) start.
On one hand, the airline, on the other hand, the aircraft manufacturer. Most of time they co-operate in good state of mind, but in case of an accident, they can suddenly become the worst ennemies, to avoid being designated as responsible. Under some circumstances, airport authority and air taffic control authorities could be involved, but it seems it is not the case here.
On top of that come the media, wanting to make the best possible coverage of the event, in terms of attracting audience. Not to report things as close as possible to the truth. So please be careful when reading or seeing reports in the media. Keep the following things in mind:
1) The exact circumstances will be determined by the investigation team, and this process will last for months, if not years.
2) All actors will try to minimize their potential responsibilities, especially in terms what the general audience thinks of this accident. A bad public reputation can kill an airline, even quicker than legal action. Thus airline representatives will do all what they can to protect their image.
3) Media will report opinion of anyone with even the slightiest connection to this business, from the tower controller to the man getting the trolleys back from the parking lot to the terminal.
4) Some insiders will say things like "With that weather / in those conditions, I would have ... / They should have done this or that". Two remarks regarding this kind of comments. First, the persons talking this way were not present (only the crew was), so they don't know the conditions to the detail. Secondly, we are always smarter after the incident, aren't we ?
So once again, our thoughts at this stage must go to the victims and their families. Let the investigation team do its jobs. I will certainly re-post about this incident when the report will be published. Anything in between would be speculation only.
Then, I wanted to issue kind of a warning via this blog. After each air disaster, the media get frenzy with information they get from anyone and by any way. Given the emotional and mediatic impact of such a crash, but also due to its possible economical impacts, a nasty game could (pessimistic people would say will) start.
On one hand, the airline, on the other hand, the aircraft manufacturer. Most of time they co-operate in good state of mind, but in case of an accident, they can suddenly become the worst ennemies, to avoid being designated as responsible. Under some circumstances, airport authority and air taffic control authorities could be involved, but it seems it is not the case here.
On top of that come the media, wanting to make the best possible coverage of the event, in terms of attracting audience. Not to report things as close as possible to the truth. So please be careful when reading or seeing reports in the media. Keep the following things in mind:
1) The exact circumstances will be determined by the investigation team, and this process will last for months, if not years.
2) All actors will try to minimize their potential responsibilities, especially in terms what the general audience thinks of this accident. A bad public reputation can kill an airline, even quicker than legal action. Thus airline representatives will do all what they can to protect their image.
3) Media will report opinion of anyone with even the slightiest connection to this business, from the tower controller to the man getting the trolleys back from the parking lot to the terminal.
4) Some insiders will say things like "With that weather / in those conditions, I would have ... / They should have done this or that". Two remarks regarding this kind of comments. First, the persons talking this way were not present (only the crew was), so they don't know the conditions to the detail. Secondly, we are always smarter after the incident, aren't we ?
So once again, our thoughts at this stage must go to the victims and their families. Let the investigation team do its jobs. I will certainly re-post about this incident when the report will be published. Anything in between would be speculation only.
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