A French court has found both Continental (as a corporation) as well as a Continental mechanic guilty of involuntary manslaughter yesterday and it stinks on many different levels.

Even if we ignore the fact that all the French parties in this trial were acquitted while the only US based parties (Continental and the mechanic) were found guilty, it still stinks for air transportation.  This sets a bad precedent for future air disasters, particularly in France, since going forward there will be little if any incentive for any party to cooperate in an investigation. 

It’s a precendent that any airline has to pay attention to when it comes to operating on French territory now and in the future.  When you face criminal liability as an airline and when your employees are subject to that same liability, it has to make an airline think twice about operating flights within your country.   When your “verdict” is blatantly patriotic as this one is, you really send a signal to those airlines and it isn’t a welcoming one. 

There is now no good reason for any airline employee to cooperate with any investigation into an air disaster and frankly I think this even extends outside of French territory.  This will have implications even in the United States as far as attorneys are concerned and that’s wrong.  Investigating an air disaster is already a difficult and contentious process at best.  Subjecting *any* mistake at all made by an airline employee to criminal liability means that it is in all employees best interest to shut up and say nothing on the record.

Accident investigations frequently result in changes in how something is done when we reveal the mistakes or uknown factors involved and that’s good.  That’s the reason why air disasters, as a percentage of air travel, have decreased so much over the last 30 years.  This one decision sets that back decades.

But let’s not ignore the patriotism involved in this.  It’s a factor and anyone who doesn’t acknowledge that just isn’t using facts.  As in all things like this disaster, there were a number of factors involved in the final outcome.  To absolve anyone French from any responsibility badly damages the reputations of the French legal system, the French government, Air France and the governming authorities for air transportation in France.  How can you, as an individual or company, trust these entities in the future if you witness them throwing a US based company in front of a moving bus while saving themselves.

This kind of behaviour is the worst you can observe in France and I’ll point out that this kind of stuff isn’t limited to just France either.  France just happens to be very good at it and, maybe, better than most. 

If this is what we can expect from the French court systems and government, shouldn’t we consider this when it comes to EADS/Airbus’ particpation in the KC-X tanker contest?  What if they won this contest, performed poorly and then hid behind the French government to escape consequences?  We’ve just witnessed a willingness to preserve French interests over truth or facts so why should the US (or any other government) believe that fair treatment and real consequences are available under any conditions that threaten French national interests in the future?

Filed under: Airline News by ajax
1 Comment »