Bad data behind Air France crash - claim

2011-10-05 22:09

Paris - A lawyer for families who lost loved ones in a 2009 Air France plane crash said on Wednesday that the investigation so far into the accident appeared to show that the pilots received bad data from their plane.

Airbus and Air France have been charged in France with involuntary homicide for the crash that killed all 228 people aboard Flight 447 as it headed from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

The judges investigating the charges met with family members of the victims on Wednesday to update them on their findings so far.

Alain Jakubowicz, a lawyer for an association that represents the families, said that those charges are "still valid" after hearing the latest in the investigation.

A report from France's accident investigation agency, or BEA, described a scenario in which poorly trained pilots reacted exactly as they shouldn't have when their plane stalled over the Atlantic - pointing the nose up instead of down.

But the report also noted that they were dealing with bad weather, faulty sensors, incoherent speed readings, and a cacophony of alarms.

Jakubowicz dismissed the BEA report on Wednesday, saying the judges' investigation is "the only one that counts".

"The feeling we had, but we have to be cautious, is that the information that the plane sent to the pilots didn't allow them to make good decisions," added Thibaut de Montbrial, a lawyer for one of the families.

Airbus and Air France have engaged in a tug-of-war over where responsibility for the crash lies.

- AP