But now that the aircraft was performing its flyover at only thirty feet, the crew noticed the aircraft was lower than the now-identified hazard that they were fast approaching. However, the elevators did not respond to the pilot's commands because the A320's computer system engaged its "alpha protection" mode (meant to prevent the aircraft from entering a stall). This was yet another unanticipated vulnerability. They did have indications of problems as in any new version of an airplane before it is completely debugged. The translated version of the report can be found on the Aviation Accidents Database and at the Aviation Safety Network. This particular flight was the A320's first passenger flight (most of those on board were journalists and raffle winners). After takeoff, eight minutes away, the Aerodrome came into view. I take my hat off to the captain. It's kind of hard to prove that pilots and conditions WOULD have messed up if they had truly been in control of all flights all these years. Would YOU be happy to know your pilot was playing with your life? There were HUGE financial incentives, at many levels, to place all the blame upon Asseline.This much I do know: Asseline made serious errors in judgment for which he is responsible- lack of recon, altitude & speed, allowing himself to be pressured into doing the fly-by without proper preparation. Quote: "and there were trees that shouldn't have been in the area. The fact the plane took over in the end should have been of no concern to him and his passengers had he followed the rules and flown at 500ft. Today, the captain, Michel Asseline has lost his French pilot license for 8 years. You have to take time to do so! the aerodrome about ten nautical miles away with his First Office r Maziers. [2], During the impact, the right wing was torn off, and the spilling fuel ignited immediately. 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 pilots defense team. Anytime there are questions suspicions involving large corporations and/or government power, one can usually follow the money to find the truth. When the crew suddenly asked the plane for more power and lift, it may have simply ignored them. However, while the pilots were trained in metric, this particular plane was in Imperial units. 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). Captain Michel Asseline used those bulletins to assert that these 2 malfunctions happened and caused both the lack of power when the throttle was increased, and the inability of the crew to recognize the sharp sink rate as the plane passed 100 feet into the . Mayday also looks at the theory that it was the computer at fault, not the pilots. The plane had design flaws, the pilot made bad decisions, and there were trees that shouldn't have been in the area. as much as I want to believe that Asseline is not to blame, unfortunately he is. Everything from the Goodyear blimp to the Zeppelin, Night Photos If he was unaware that the plane's altimeter was in feet and not meters he still bears the responsibility of flying too low. Because the aircraft's altitude had fallen below 100ft, the plane's computer may have been programmed to believe it was landing and therefore prevent any drastic manoeuvres from either pilot. The Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic TV series Mayday featured the accident and subsequent investigation in a season 9 episode titled "Pilot vs. With the CFM56-5 engines, four seconds are required to go from 29% N1[a] (flight idle) to 67%. 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. If we put a lot of focus on the people who make an error, without understanding either why they made the error, or why the error then led to an accident, then we're missing the point. Unprofessional. then 'cause he climb down? He says that when Airbus realized that this would be a PR disaster, that they tampered with evidence to make it appear that he had not taken corrective action soon enough. The flight plan originally filed did not include the flyover of the Habsheim Air Show, which was added on the morning of the flight. The press was aboard. [1] auto throttle at one of the floor limits) misjudged the situation (the length of the runway, and altitude of the plane), and didn't know the performance of the aircraft sufficiently well (engine spool up times) to safely perform the manoeuvre he was undertaking. All the passengers were specially selected for the trip. Ultimately, there is one fact that is not disputed - Captain Asseline flew the aircraft into a stall. It is a fact of life that no human is perfect, and every one will make errors at some stage. . If you get blamed for everything, its better to do nothing. There was no reply and the thick black smoke made a visual check impossible, so she exited the fuselage. Some seconds later the aircraft touched the tops of the trees behind the runway and crashed into a forest. Less than five seconds later, the turbines began ingesting leaves and branches as the aircraft skimmed the tops of the trees. Where was that, somewhere in Kentucky or Tennessee? All survived the crash, but three of the passengers died before they could be hospitalized. Menu. I've been at my job 20 years - I know my job inside and out. Captain Asseline, and four other Air France employees are convicted of involuntary manslaughter. French investigation says that Asseline was trying to do an overly-ambitious maneuver and made critical errors. 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. He had to spot the airfield from the air and prepare to do the overflight. Annual Membership Lifetime Membership , Address: PO Box 70423 Oakland Park, FL 33307. Asseline should've used Radar Altimeter when flying at such a low level. A court in Colmar, in eastern France, also sentenced pilot Michel Asseline to 12 additional months, which were suspended. But as the aircraft approached the field, the flight deck crew noticed that the spectators were gathered beside runway 34R (2,100 feet (640m) long, grass). Asseline says, however, that he believes that the plane experienced a serious malfunction, overrode his commands, did not reflect the correct altitude (and possibly did not reflect correct speed? [1] A training captain since 1979, Asseline was appointed to head the company's A320 training subdivision at the end of 1987. As a retired air crash investigator, I have examined this crash in great detail. 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? Captain Asseline was victim of strange circumstances, and his imprisonment had no reason.Kjeld Olsen, Denmark. A training captain since 1979, he was appointed to head the company's A320 training subdivision at the end of 1987. This OEB stated that the barometric altitude indication on the A320 did not always function properly. Heres a story about me and you. However why were passengers allowed on this flight. Captain Michel Asseline served a year in prison. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panintern Flight_112, https://www.welt.de/print/wams/vermisch Licht.html, http://www.feuerwehr-krummesse.de/einsa kensee.php, http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2009/f-cp090 .01.en.pdf, http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/14/us/ai hance.html, http://www.avmed.in/2011/02/from-convic le-reborn/, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/fir -1.2605682, https://norj.ca/2014/04/pilots-fired-af ff-course/. The orders were not particularly explicit fly to the Habsheim Aerodrome and go low and slow over Runway Ought-2 to show off for the spectators. If he maintained 100ft, the aicraft would've missed the 40ft trees! The plan was to overfly Runway Ought-2; the aircraft was configured for a low-altitude overflight. ", I thought a little more broadly. Captain Asseline, and four other Air France employees are convicted of involuntary manslaughter. *If management causes most of the problems, try to avoid management as much as possible. Most of the crash sequence, which occurred in front of several thousand spectators, was caught on video. [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. I am Captain Michel Asseline. I'm not cocky - I'm just good at my job. Any experienced pilot, or physician for that matter, smells disaster. I think the best example of this case would be Captain Lyle Prouse - he went to jail for flying a passenger flight while drunk, lost his job with NW as well as his FAA licence, and ends up being rehired, regained his licence & retired from NW as a 747 captain. He is now flying in Australia. 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. He was not qualified for what was, essentially, display flying. Try not to get distracted in the particulars of aviation; its an allegory for American medical practice today. At 450 feet, the pilot monitoring the captain flying informed him that the plane would reach 100 feet at 14:45. (How can you see people but not trees?) Captain Michel Asseline. The pilot and copilot were charged and convicted of three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the French criminal courts. Some individual in Texas, I read a little excerpt from book written by a man whom I quite dislike,. [2], Habsheim aerodrome was too small to be listed in the aircraft's flight computer, thereby requiring a visual approach; both pilots were also unfamiliar with the airfield when they began their descent from 2,000 feet (610m) only 6 nautical miles (11km) from the field. That pilot should walk free. This bug has now been corrected in later versions of the 320. The Airbus A320 couldnt handle it. 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. Tail and Winglet closeups with beautiful airline logos. 3 people died due to smoke. I have seen TV shows where he was even interviewed. Michel Asseline was the pilot in command of F-GFKC, Pierre Mazire was his first officer, when the aircraft overflew the airfield at 2 pm in wonderful sunny weather. The third was a woman who had reached the front door and then returned to help the girl. This type of oversight, if you want to call it that, happens ALL the time, in programming software, as well as all other types of engineering. 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. [2], Official reports concluded that the pilots flew too low, too slow, failed to see the forest and accidentally flew into it. Captain Michel Asseline, 44, had been an airline pilot with Air France for almost 20 years and had the following endorsements: Caravelle, Boeing 707, 727, and 737, and Airbus A300 and A310.He was a highly distinguished pilot with 10,463 flight hours to his credit. This and another point i wish to make the fact that most pilots would have performed a procedure called a go around when approaching an airport that you are unfamiliar with. The flight attendant then began evacuating the passengers but they soon began to pile up at the bottom of the slide as their route was blocked by trees and branches. . 3 passengers died in the accident and about 50 were injured. Everyone thought it was a no-brainer for the A320 to wow this crowd. Prison of Precision (Part 2) by Stephen Vaughn MD, Ph. 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. He was never given the chance. It is very disrespectful towards the family members who have lost loved ones in this crash for him not to take responsibility for the mistakes he has made. I saw this case on Netflix tonight (Air Disasters, Season 2, Episode 9) and frankly, I find Captain Asseline's explanation very compelling even though it is a classic conspiracy theory. The combination of these issues and possible pilot error results in a crash into a nearby forest that kills three passengers. Both pilots Captain Asseline and First Officer Mazire survived. I am sorry that their may be other factors that may say hey if the plane had performed better and had not taken over he may have been able to fly over the trees and been able to safely land the plane. Totaly miracle. Therefore, Captain Asseline has to also take some responsibility for those that died and those that were maimed for life. I am Captain Michel. Asseline argues that he attempted to apply thrust earlier than indicated in the flight recorder data. When the evacuation continued, the flight attendant stayed at the door, helping passengers, until she began suffering from smoke inhalation. The official report from BEA concluded that the probable cause of the accident was a combination of the following: Furthermore, the bureau concluded that if the descent below 100 feet was not deliberate, it may have resulted from a failure by the crew to take proper account of the visual and aural information available to them regarding the elevation "above ground level" (AGL) of the aircraft. Privacy Policy. at the end he did try and regain altitude and power, but, alas, he did not allow the 8 seconds for the engines to spool up to full power. He said this at least a decade before the Airbus crash. He was flying with visual flight rules. show at Mulhouse Habsheim in France. For more information, please see our Why not re-focus efforts from assigning blame on the aircraft and instead, more consideration for the deaths you caused. the plane was stalled? Have you ever feared losing your job? [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. Today, the captain, Michel Asseline has lost his French pilot license for 8 years. It threatened to ruin the reputation of the A320, potentially losing many millions of dollars in sales. Some seconds later the aircraft touched the tops of the trees behind the runway and crashed into a forest. Management often screws around. Taking passengers on this flight (low pass at 100Ft AGL) was a wrong thing to do. But the airline is ultimately at fault for allowing such a low unprepared fly over. This is NOT to say the Airbus' control system has not prevented plenty of crashes. The flight would take 130 passengers and 6 crew aloft. I think the pilot is culpable. Incidents with no casualties but with damage to the ac? Captain Asseline, who maintained his innocence, would go on to serve ten months of prison and a further ten months of probation.[3]. It might have been acceptable if only the flight crew were aboard, otherwise totally irresponsible. Facts: 1) new plane (model/style) = bugs still to be discovered & pilots not familiar w how plane functions (new technology / automation) 2) pilot was not familiar w air field not shown air field and only given a map of it (inaccurate map showing no terrain) right before the flight 3) air France never should have had people on the flight except crew knowing all these factors. Captain Michel Asseline served a year in prison. You must learn and follow the rules otherwise you may DIE or kill someone else and die.This one fact that Michael choose to fly at 100ft that Michael performed as the pilot in charge of this Aircraft is sufficient to place the guilt firmly in his lap. Hundreds of spectators witnessed the June 26, 1988, crash at the Mulhouse-Habsheim air show. He is dangerous and shouldn't be flying. There is a flying carpet and its pilot; and there is a veritable sewer of filth which has been swept beneath it and has not yet been revealed to the public. Its systems would not allow for mistakes. Guilty. Airport overviews from the air or ground, Tails and Winglets [1] On 26 June 1988, the plane crashed while making a low pass over MulhouseHabsheim Airfield (ICAO airport code LFGB) as part of the Habsheim Air Show. Related news. Christian Roger, a professional pilot, complained energetically about the fact-finding process around the crash. My feeling: pilot did as he was told by air France. He was destined to fail. Theres many more lessons to be learned about the practice of medicine from the story of Prisoner Michel Asseline sorry, Captain Michel Asseline. As usual, I believe the truth is somewhere in the middle. The others were sentenced to probation. Possibly retired now . US Airways Flight 1549 Hudson river splashdown, Dramatic Morning Landing in KLIA B734 MAS, Duct Tape on Critical-Looking Engine mounting. [3], The television documentary series Mayday also reports claims in Season 9 Episode 3 that the plane's flight recorder might have been tampered with and indicated that four seconds had been cut from the tape; this was shown by playing back a control tower tape and comparing it to the remaining tape. Christian Roger, a professional pilot, complained energetically about the fact-finding process around the crash. 12:43:44 - the aircraft begins its descent from 2,000 feet (610m), initially at a rate of 300 feet (91m) per minute with 'Flaps 1'. Today, they would perform a flyover at the Habsheim Air Show at the Habsheim Aerodrome and go on to a sightseeing tour of Mont Blanc. He was a highly distinguished pilot with 10,463 flight hours. Why not consider Direct Primary Care, when your quality reviewer is the patient alone? ), You can read more about this here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_296. It threatened to ruin the reputation of the A320, potentially losing many millions of dollars in sales. Pilot was sentenced to imprisonment for about a year. Since the plane was going slow, the computer overrode his input, and denied the maneuver. Most of the posters here are missing the relevant point. The aircraft was on ground for a week for saftety checks and the captain was downgraded for 2 years to a FO. 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. 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. I think it much more likely that he applied power well before that, as he claims. His co-pilot, Pierre Mazieres, got a 12-month suspended sentence. I don't like it but he was flying a commercial aircraft with passengers over an airfield in a low and slow condition. National Association of Veteran Affairs Physicians and Dentists (NAVAPD) is the official national organization of VA physicians and dentists who proudly serve our nation's veterans. I thing, there was no evidence, that captain Asseline made a fault before crash of plane. A dry run or practice run should have been done before the show or and the pilot should have at least went and saw the airfield prior but he wasn't given any info until right before the flight. Accident, incident and crash related photos, Air to Air As for pilots at the start of their career they work for peanuts $20,000 by the time they get up to $100k they been living like poppers long enough and I want a confident pilot not some mousy week person that buckles under pressure. 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? Overflight at this altitude made the demonstration to the crowd even more awe-inspiring. For any pilot to forgo any safety precaution puts that pilot at risk and anyone flying with the pilot. Anyone who has worked same job for years will know what I mean when I say we don't really have to think about what we are doing at work we just do it because we have done it so many times before and know exactly how to do it correctly. However, the Captain is also to blame because he should have never agreed to take passengers along on such a dangerous flight. 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