Crash pilot who paused to pray is convicted

dcramer16

Well-Known Member
Not sure if anyone has covered this yet.


PALERMO (Reuters) – A Tunisian pilot who paused to pray instead of taking emergency measures before crash-landing his plane, killing 16 people, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an Italian court along with his co-pilot.
The 2005 crash at sea off Sicily left survivors swimming for their lives, some clinging to a piece of the fuselage that remained floating after the ATR turbo-prop aircraft splintered upon impact.
A fuel-gauge malfunction was partly to blame but prosecutors also said the pilot succumbed to panic, praying out loud instead of following emergency procedures and then opting to crash-land the plane instead trying to reach a nearby airport.
Another five employees of Tuninter, a subsidiary of Tunisair, were sentenced to between eight and nine years in jail by the court, in a verdict handed down Monday.
The seven accused, who were not in court, will not spend time in jail until the appeals process has been exhausted.
(Writing by Phil Stewart)
 
No way that would have happened in the US...can you imagine the crapstorm the ACLU would start over that?!
 
No way that would have happened in the US...can you imagine the crapstorm the ACLU would start over that?!

Depends on who he is praying to. ACLU is no friend of Jesus or anyone who likes him. :)

My thoughts: prayer could easily be simultaneous, and non-verbal. It also sounds like he should have prayed for better decision-making. :)
 
I'm pretty certain he didn't attain any of his ratings by responding to simulated emergency situations beginning with " Our Father,......
 
the problem is the requirement in many countries for punitive response to any failure or mistake. With the current attitude in the US and from the assaults on the ASAPs by legal teams, we are not that far from devolving into similar situations where the pilots, if they survive, will be held for civil and possibly criminal prosecution.

Possibly a bit of hyperbole but our country has a lot of pent up anger and many believe in 'sending a message' in the form of retribution be it jail or fines.
 
the problem is the requirement in many countries for punitive response to any failure or mistake...many believe in 'sending a message' in the form of retribution be it jail or fines.

I agree that we are trending in the same direction. I don't believe in jail time for mistakes or even incompetence. What for? It only caters to the vindictiveness of mob rule.
 
the problem is the requirement in many countries for punitive response to any failure or mistake. With the current attitude in the US and from the assaults on the ASAPs by legal teams, we are not that far from devolving into similar situations where the pilots, if they survive, will be held for civil and possibly criminal prosecution.

Possibly a bit of hyperbole but our country has a lot of pent up anger and many believe in 'sending a message' in the form of retribution be it jail or fines.

I guess my opinion of our system of investigation is that it is the one area that works pretty well. I view our system as one that is not primarily focused on the assignment of blame, but rather on the cause and potential improvements. I would like to keep it that way I think. This is just my opinion - Velo and OA have more relevant experience on the topic, but that is my take.
 
I agree that we are trending in the same direction. I don't believe in jail time for mistakes or even incompetence. What for? It only caters to the vindictiveness of mob rule.

We have to find a way to differentiate between mistakes/errors and intentional and willful violations.

Many pilots misunderstand the ASAPs as a 'get out of jail free' program when that is NOT what is intended. Even with mistakes/errors, the Event Review Committee (ERC) can require some training which often is deemed 'punishment' by the crew which submitted the report.

This then shows the reality of an ASAP and training program. IF the programs are set up to maintain the standard, improve aviator skills, training should NOT be jeopardy and NOT punishment. And crews should recognize that some training may be warranted.

What happens too often, however, an event exposes the gaps between management and labor and the use of ASAP and training. And the incident with the CP or asst CP in DFW calling in on the slow taxi of company airplane is an example of using training as a cudgel. That compromises everyone.
 
On flightglobal.com, March 19, was an article on this subject and covered some recent findings on the effectiveness of criminal prosecution of pilots and controllers.

It was a doctoral thesis study by two Cypriots, one a law professor and another an airline pilot.

The study found that criminal prosecution had negative effects on aviation safety overall.
 
anyone have more info on this flight? Couldn't find too much info on the interwebs.

http://208.117.236.69/watch?v=tdAgu38K0Mo
Just from listening to the cvr tapes on youtube, it didn't seem like they stopped to pray, but were saying oh god oh god. Personally I don't feel that religion has a seat in the cockpit but I respect other's rights to believe what ever they want.


I feel this is more so the fault of the mx installing the wrong fuel guage. I'd like to see more info.
 
I really don't think any of them should be put in prison.

$$$$ happens.

10 years? Maybe not. Considering mtx. put a Fuel Quantity Indicator for a -42 in a -72 is criminal. (I don't know what quantity would have been indicated on the refueling panel). Considering that the Captain failed to follow SOPs and did not take actions to divert to the nearest airport once he started down from 23,000 and instead relied on prayer to save them to me is beyond the pale.
He was responsible for people, he failed to act accordingly and in doing so people died.
 
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