Captain Michel Asseline. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. 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 captain, Michel Asseline, disputed the report and claimed an error in the fly-by-wire computer prevented him from applying thrust and pulling up. He cannot blame the Aircraft for not reacting as he wanted to when it was extremly low and right above stall speed. The Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic TV series Mayday featured the accident and subsequent investigation in a season 9 episode titled "Pilot vs. Two fire trucks at the airshow set off and an ambulance followed. It was one of the first domestic demonstrations of the new plane, which had gone into service earlier that year. This Pin was discovered by flygcforum.com. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality of patient care in the VA health care system, ensuring the doctor-patient relationship is maintained and strengthened. Why be a sucker? 3 passengers died in the accident and about 50 were injured. Privacy Policy. His job was to find its limitations, but one slipped past him, and Airbus and all the designers and engineers. He wanted to pop up 70 feet to get over the trees. The egress of the passengers was temporarily halted while the purser and another flight attendant began clearing the branches. 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. This would be followed by a sightseeing trip south to Mont Blanc before the passengers would be returned to BaselMulhouse Airport. ALL pilots KNOW, that there is a spool up time on jetengines. Discover (and save!) Cookie Notice Local emergency services were informed by radio communication. 12:45:35 - nose-up attitude is now 15 and speed is 122 knots. Captain Asseline, First Officer Mazire, two Air France employees and the sponsor of the event, president of the local flight club, were charged with the crime of involuntary manslaughter, of the group Captain Asseline was the only one who ended up in jail convicted to 10 months in prison, while the rest ended up on probation. -- the black box indicates (as does the video) the plane was clearly too low and too slow for the maneuver. I thing, there was no evidence, that captain Asseline made a fault before crash of plane. In the process, the purser and the passenger were thrown out of the fuselage with the slide landing on top of them. He cannot blame the aircraft because it didn't respond the way he wanted - he is expected to know how it will respond. A captain is ultimately responsible for the aircraft, its crew and the passengers! Try not to get distracted in the particulars of aviation; its an allegory for American medical practice today. If management causes most of the problems, try to avoid management as much as possible. . Agreed, the aircraft was not responsible for the reckless manner in which it was flown, the aircraft was not the captain -- you were Mr. Asseline. 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. Help Center Contributor Zone Polls. There is a CA that I knew that turned his T-Tail aircraft into the wing of another aircraft and he remained with the same company but ended up as a ground instructor for situational awareness classes. Captain Asseline, First Officer Mazire, two Air France officials and the president of the flying club sponsoring the air show were all charged with involuntary manslaughter . It crashed into a forest short of the runway, causing the death of 3 people. Any doctor who tries to practice in medicine today, except for my colleagues in Direct Primary Care, live in the world of Captain Michel Asseline every day. Some passengers had difficulty unfastening their seatbelts because they were unfamiliar with the mechanism (which differs from the type used in car seatbelts). Couldn't even begin to imagine what he has gone through. the plane was stalled? I'm definitely beside the driver. 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. From higher up, the forest at the end of 34R had looked like a different type of grass. Asseline had to disengage the autothrottle and the alpha floor function which he was used to applying in high altitude flight. Fly-by-wire was perfect for this precision maneuver of an aircraft. 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? The overflight of the airfield at the Aerodrome was to take place at alpha-max, the lowest speed at which a craft could fly without stalling. That pilot should walk free. Any experienced pilot, or physician for that matter, smells disaster. The tape speed was set using the 400Hz frequency of the aircraft's electrical supply and then synchronised with the air traffic control recordings, which included a time track.[2]. 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. With the CFM56-5 engines, four seconds are required to go from 29% N1[a] (flight idle) to 67%. guilty of manslaughter and bodily harm, again on the basis of the Get a job criticizing - nobody blames you for doing that. Due to the many demands of redirection and reconfiguration, the craft flew above Runway 34R at 30 feet, not the usual 100 feet which is standard for low-altitude demonstration overflight. [2], The CVR was read during the night of 26 June at the BEA. In reality, that only ensures that one pilot never makes the mistake again. This is why Michael in the end is were the blame ends up being put. The flight would take 130 passengers and 6 crew aloft. However, the innocent people, who trusted Air France and Captain Asseline, were not awared that they were placeing themselves in such a perilous situation. 12:44:45 - 'Flaps 3' is selected as the aircraft descends through 500 feet (150m) at an airspeed of 177 knots. Guilty. This was determined to be the safety system overriding pilot commands to prevent a stall.-- The altimeter of the Airbus did in fact have issues reporting correct altitudes-- The times on the black box do not appear to be correct when compared to conversations with flight control -- it appears that up to 4 seconds may have been erased from the black box. The plane crashed because of a design defect; but because it was software and not metal, it was ignored. He was not given a map and route. The captain made a last-second turn and approach to overfly Runway 34R. The first crash that comes to mind is the one where that CRJ2 crashed because it took off on the wrong runway and the only survivor was one of the pilots. There is evidence for this: -- Asseline was the pilot in charge of training others on this airplane, but he is on record saying that he found the secondary digital altimeter to be unreadable, and to this day he hasn't been able to use it during flight.-- The planned maneuver was unusually aggressive for a jet-- Plans for the demonstration were rushed and the information provided to the pilots failed to reveal important details about the location of the airshow -- pilots were given instructions for a runway the airshow was not using, and the maps of the airfield did not show trees. I think the pilot is culpable. He was destined to fail. In order to accomplish the desk-pilots orders, the pilots valuable time was spent jiggering the preparations for the overflight, not allowing him to evaluate strategic details like why fly a plane at 30 feet if there are 100-foot trees at the end? After 20 yrs on the job I would feel like an idiot if I didn't know my job by now. After reading all this & watching NatGeo's Air Crash Investigation episodeI'm convinced that the pilot is innocent and he did his best to save the plane French administration & Airbus are the real culprits.. Props and jets from the good old days, Flight Decks For more information, please see our 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. This was the first fatal crash of an Airbus A320. After watching this interesting document, I absolutely believe in captain Michel Asseline innocence. Some seconds later the aircraft touched the tops of the trees behind the runway and crashed into a forest. This alone would give me as a pilot cause to do a go around. The pilot and copilot were charged and convicted of three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the French criminal courts. [5][6], The plane's flight recorders were found still attached in the unburnt tail section. In the US it's called ASAP. The fact is that this kind of statement does not negate the fact that he was breaking the rules. show at Mulhouse Habsheim in France. 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. [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. This last-minute deviation in the approach further distracted the crew from stabilising the aircraft's altitude and they quickly dropped to 40 feet (12m).[2]. Decisions can only be made after a proper investigation. 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. He was endorsed on the Caravelle, Boeing 707 and 737, and had qualified as an A320 captain three months before the accident. Very low flyover height, lower than surrounding obstacles; Speed very slow and reducing to reach maximum possible angle of attack; Passengers should be banned from all demonstration flights, Flight crews should be provided with and ensure proper reconnaissance of airfields, Airline company procedures should be reviewed to ensure they comply with official regulations concerning altitude, This page was last edited on 14 January 2023, at 19:11. Guilty. Captain is The Best. This distance was too short for them to stabilise the aircraft's altitude and speed for the flyover. Ascending at such an angle would lead to the planes stalling within minutes. Sorry but the pilot is at fault. 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. Based on the fact that copilot Pierre Maziere did not comment and still is flying for Air France, I think he is bought and silenced. It threatened to ruin the reputation of the A320, potentially losing many millions of dollars in sales. I don't know how passenger survived. But it's all about me and you. Asseline should've used Radar Altimeter when flying at such a low level. A passenger tried to open the left-side overwing exit. You are Captain Michel Asseline. Captain Michel Asseline "44" Second Officer Pierre Mazire "45" Captain Asseline has logged 10,463 flight hours while First Officer Maziere . The combination of these issues and possible pilot error results in a crash into a nearby forest that kills three passengers. Today, the captain, Michel Asseline has lost his French pilot license for 8 years. [1] A training captain since 1979, Asseline was appointed to head the company's A320 training subdivision at the end of 1987. Every type from fighters to helicopters from air forces around the globe, Classic Airliners Its FREE!!! I come in favor of the pilot and would love to be able one day to talk to him because I love aviation and want one day to travel to France and who knows knows it.paulinho@rapix.com.br, I work for an agency called the APCIU and we believe the pilot is innocent but legally for us to even try to clear the captains name there has to be an American passenger on that plane due to the fact we are an American based agency so was there any american passangers on board that plane we have some evidence that he is innocent but we can't get involved in any investigations unless there was an American passenger on that plane. Both military and civil versions, Blimps / Airships The press was aboard. I feel that the sentence is unfair. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. During the appeal process, Captain Asseline 's sentence was increased to 10 months of imprisonment along with 10 months of probation . Yesterday, I watched the tv document of disaster. The plane crashed because of a design defect; but because it was software and not metal, it was ignored. Whos going to fly the goddamn airplanes in the future? Incidents with no casualties but with damage to the ac? After takeoff, eight minutes away, the Aerodrome came into view. Christian Roger, a professional pilot, complained energetically about the fact-finding process around the crash. If we try to eliminate error altogether, we're kidding ourselves. It's about commercial aviation, and I've tried to include all the relevant facts for you to draw conclusions. His arrogance, recklessness, lack of skills and knowledge destroyed a plane and killed 2 children and an adult. As a pilot you study this rule and there are many rules. His co-pilot, Pierre Mazieres, got a 12-month suspended sentence. 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. Fly-by-wire was perfect for this precision maneuver of an aircraft. Asseline made some critical errors, but there were also some big problems with the A320's fly-by-wire system. 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). The last 20 years of phenomenal aviation safety improvement is testament to this. (How can you see people but not trees?) According to French law, Asseline was required to submit himself to the prison system before his case could be taken up by the Court of Cassation. Both pilots Captain Asseline and First Officer Mazire survived. Case Study 9: Leap of Faith Summary: In the case study, Captain Michel Asseline piloted the brand new Airbus A320 for the airshow in France. I even can't remember the name of the Germanwings pilot at the moment and he is quite "famous". My father was THE senior test pilot for the British Civil Aviation Authority at the time of the crash and knew the French pilot personally. Where was that, somewhere in Kentucky or Tennessee? He is now flying in Australia. [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. He was a highly distinguished pilot with 10,463 flight hours. The point is that again instead of having the safety of his passengers as his first concern it was to perform the flyby. Have you ever feared losing your job? 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. Airbus had too much to lose as far as money invested developing the plane. The flight plan originally filed did not include the flyover of the Habsheim Air Show, which was added on the morning of the flight. But its all about me and you. I also remember the incident and also am on the side of the pilot. Ultimately, there is one fact that is not disputed - Captain Asseline flew the aircraft into a stall. Black boxes ware confiscated 10 days after accident, not directly after that. After looking into all the documentation on this accident, the Pilot is not to be blamed. A training captain since 1979, he was appointed to head the company's A320 training subdivision at the end of 1987. Captain Michel Asseline got burnt doing a routine, everyday maneuver that his plane just couldnt handle, one that an open-cockpit biplane could. Captain Michel Asseline served a year in prison. Views from inside the cockpit, Aircraft Cabins He said this at least a decade before the Airbus crash. Heres a story about me and you. Community. Not unless their was prior approval by the proper authorities that made the rules that allowed for him to break it. I am Captain Michel Asseline. And cheaper! Heres a story about me and you. 12:45:15 - the aircraft, now at 90 feet (27m), begins a deviation to the right (maximum bank angle: 30) to line up with the grass strip 34R. The crash was a great embarrassment to Air France and Airbus, a European company with deep roots in France. [2], First Officer Pierre Mazires, 45, had been flying with the airline since 1969 and had been a training captain for six years. 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. If you get blamed for everything, its better to do nothing. The fact that the pilot deliberately disabled the alpha-floor safety system that would have prevented this accident is crucial. 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/. Its systems would not allow for mistakes. The third was a woman who had reached the front door and then returned to help the girl. It then takes one second more to go from 67 to 83% N1. Captain Asseline was flying to Mont Blanc, period. [2], The flight deck crew believed that the engines had failed to respond to the application of full power. A very unfortunate event in history! Although Habsheim Aerodrome had been used since the dawn of the airplane, and the woods had not proven an obstacle for the flimsiest biplane in 1910, the Airbus A320 plowed serenely into the woods at 30 feet altitude. the aerodrome about ten nautical miles away with his First Office r Maziers. There are several "small" inconsistencies and anomalies throughout the entire accident report which have not been explained sufficiently for any critically-thinking investigatorSTILL.The crew did NOT make sure all the passengers were out before exiting themselves as per protocol, and then misinformed the captain that everyone was out. The crash was a great embarrassment to Air France and Airbus, a European company with deep roots in France. This response of the engines complied with their certification data.[2]. As a retired air crash investigator, I have examined this crash in great detail. Unprofessional. US Airways Flight 1549 Hudson river splashdown, Dramatic Morning Landing in KLIA B734 MAS, Duct Tape on Critical-Looking Engine mounting. A further ten seconds later, 'Flaps 2' is selected. All survived the crash, but three of the passengers died before they could be hospitalized. 12:45:06 - the aircraft descends through 200 feet (61m) at an airspeed of 155 knots. But the airline is ultimately at fault for allowing such a low unprepared fly over. On June 26, 1988, a very special Airbus A320 left Basel-Mulhouse Airport in Habsheim, France. Theres many more lessons to be learned about the practice of medicine from the story of Prisoner Michel Asseline sorry, Captain Michel Asseline. Today, the captain, Michel Asseline has lost his French pilot license for 8 years. There is evidence for this: [3][8] Airbus made a detailed rebuttal of these claims in a document published in 1991, contending that the independent investigator employed by the filmmakers made an error when synchronising the recordings based on a misunderstanding of how the "Radio Transmit" parameter on the flight data recorder functioned.[9]. 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. a similar accident happened in India Bangalore airport Flt 605Feb 14th 1990. the aircraft took 8seconds to respond. That was sheer stupidity. 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 . 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