David Learmount/LONDON
Negligence and possibly manslaughter charges are expected to be brought against the pilots, the maintenance organisation and the Greek civil aviation authority (CAA) over the Greek Government Dassault Falcon 900 accident in which seven VIP passengers died.
The accident happened over Romania in September 1999, and although the results of the investigation by the Romanian authorities are not expected until later this month, the Greek prosecutor is acting on information from a parallel study carried out by Athens' own investigators.
There were 13 people on the Falcon 900 bound for Bucharest, Romania, on 14 September 1999, when the aircraft went out of control as the aircraft began its descent towards the airport.
The leaked 45 page report by Greek investigators Alex Fischer and Akrivos Tsolakis says the primary cause was a malfunction in the aircraft's pitch feel system, and although the relevant alert light was on, the pilots ignored it as a false warning. Also the aircraft's checklist did not contain the procedure for pitch feel failure, which entails reducing the indicated airspeed (IAS) to less than 481km/h (260kt). The aircraft's IAS at top of descent was 621km/h.
Contrary to Dassault's recommended top-of-descent procedure, the report says, the seat belt sign was not on, and during the descent from 15,000ft (4,600m) the pilots lost control. The aircraft shook violently, killing seven unstrapped passengers as they were thrown about the cabin. The pilots recovered control at about 2,000ft and the aircraft landed at Bucharest.
Since the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was not working, much of the investigatory information comes from a video of the cabin and cockpit shot by a passenger who subsequently died.
The report alleges that the pitch feel and CVR malfunctions were long-term defects which had not been rectified, hence the intention to prosecute the CAA for poor safety oversight and Olympic Airways, responsible for the aircraft's maintenance. The pitch feel system should have incorporated an approved Dassault modification which had not been carried out, says the report.
Source: Flight International
