Airliners.net is the leading community for discovering and sharing high-quality aviation photography. One was a disabled boy in seat 4F who was unable to move. 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. I've been at my job 20 years - I know my job inside and out. If you get blamed for everything, its better to do nothing. I have seen TV shows where he was even interviewed. Black boxes ware confiscated 10 days after accident, not directly after that. Today, the captain, Michel Asseline has lost his French pilot license for 8 years. Much of this stock was held in the names of various family members and shell corporations. The computer didnt know he meant just to pop up a few hundred feet. Asseline assured his first officer. One and a half years after this accident it is still not known why this crash happened. Ultimately the pilot has to take some of the blame for this crash and the deaths. and our The plane did nothing more that it was designed to do all of which he had prior knowledge of and or training for. shameful arrogance! It is a fact of life that no human is perfect, and every one will make errors at some stage. I, personally, do not agree with the conclusions reached in this aircraft accident report. Some passengers had difficulty unfastening their seatbelts because they were unfamiliar with the mechanism (which differs from the type used in car seatbelts). Captain Michel Asseline. [2], The CVR was read during the night of 26 June at the BEA. It was piloted by a premier captain of Air France, Captain Michel Asseline, with over10,000 air hours, and led the training division of Air France for qualifying pilots on the Airbus 320. *Captain Michel Asseline got thrown under the Airbus. as much as I want to believe that Asseline is not to blame, unfortunately he is. The pilot pulled up on the yoke to ease the plane up over the hundred-foot-tall woods at the end of the runway. I am appalled that the court found fit to blaim teh air carsh mainly on Captain Michel Asseline, as so many faults were made (like the height instructions, missing of the forrest, etc.). I have a hard time believing that the pilot was literally four seconds from the trees when he applied power. Traduzioni in contesto per "had the endorsement" in inglese-italiano da Reverso Context: I hope the Commission will pay very serious attention to them since they have had the endorsement also of the Regional Affairs Committee. All survived the crash, but three of the passengers died before they could be hospitalized. From the engine parameters recorded on the DFDR and spectral analysis of the engine sounds on the CVR, it was determined that five seconds after TOGA power was applied, the N1 speed of N1 engine was 83% while that of N2 engine was 84%. The Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic TV series Mayday featured the accident and subsequent investigation in a season 9 episode titled "Pilot vs. Today, the captain, Michel Asseline has lost his French pilot license for 8 years. Asseline was initially sentenced to six months in prison along with twelve months of probation. A further ten seconds later, 'Flaps 2' is selected. [2] Mazires had 10,853 hours of flight time. your own Pins on Pinterest After a few seconds, Asseline claims, he became worried that the plane's completely computerised throttle control had malfunctioned and responded by pulling the throttle all the way back then forward again. In 1998, Asseline's appeal was rejected and his sentence was increased to ten months of imprisonment along with ten months of probation. The captain of this Aircraft should take responsibility for his actions instead of trying to clear his name. The flight would take 130 passengers and 6 crew aloft. guilty of manslaughter and bodily harm, again on the basis of the Get a job criticizing - nobody blames you for doing that. He continued flying and after two years he became a captain again Everyone airminded in France knows that Michel Asseline, who was an Air France chief pilot instructor at the beginning of the Airbus A-320 era and PIC in the A-320 that crashed at Mulhouse-Habsheim airfield in June 1988, resumed his career some years after the accident as a Boeing-737 pilot in Australia. He wanted to pop up 70 feet to get over the trees. The rich stay rich because they are manipulative, greedy, throat-cutting bastards who will literally do ANYTHING, trash anyone, to protect/increase their wealth. He cannot blame the Aircraft for not reacting as he wanted to when it was extremly low and right above stall speed. 3 people died due to smoke. Air France would have just replaced him. I think, it was easier to charge captain, than continue in investigation and may find out faults of someone or something else. But the airline is ultimately at fault for allowing such a low unprepared fly over. he claims to have done this before in the recording, but does not mention that it was at 20,000 feet with 40% thrust rather than 100 feet with 5% thrust. He said this at least a decade before the Airbus crash. instead of only 30ft trees they could have easily been larger. [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]. If you change the pilots cap for a lab coat, arent you Captain Michel Asseline, too? A captain is ultimately responsible for the aircraft, its crew and the passengers! Asseline fcuked up big time and killed 3 people. It would not open, which was fortunate as there was by that time a fire on the left wing. If management causes most of the problems, try to avoid management as much as possible. This alone would give me as a pilot cause to do a go around. Nor, then, were his passengers. Captain Asseline was initially sentenced to 6 months in prison along with 12 months of probation . 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. As a retired air crash investigator, I have examined this crash in great detail. They received no verbal details about the flyover or the aerodrome itself. It certainly gives the impression of bias, even if there was none. Think about it - low level flying with 130 passengers on board? This more than anything caused the crash. [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. Pilots are charged with the safety of their passengers first and foremost. show at Mulhouse Habsheim in France. Discover (and save!) The crash was a great embarrassment to Air France and Airbus, a European company with deep roots in France. The day after the crash, French transport officials called a news conference to say the pilots were flying too slow and too low. Jul 7, 2021 - This Pin was discovered by Beatrizfalitz. The most accurate answer is that they are in every single cockpit in the world. This is specifically in reference to the fact that the Airbus 320 system would consider the craft landing when it was low to the ground and override the Captain's ability to pull the craft up. 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. In this instance, however, the pilots involved did not hesitate to fly the aircraft below its normal minimum flying speed because the purpose of the flyover was to demonstrate that the aircraft's computer systems would ensure that lift would always be available regardless of how the pilots handled the controls. Five individuals, including the captain and first officer, were later found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Guilty. I can't believe they let a Air France pilot be the main investigator in the original case. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. I'm definitely beside the driver. 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 engine spool-up time of about 5 sec was perfectly correct, given that they had been pulled right back to flight-idle. 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. Air France Flight 296 was a chartered Airbus A320-111, which crashed on 26 June 1988 while doing a low pass over Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport for the Habsheim Air Show. Unprofessional. Its FREE!!! The aircraft was on ground for a week for saftety checks and the captain was downgraded for 2 years to a FO. Runway to pass over - again wrong. A training captain since 1979, he was appointed to head the company's A320 training subdivision at the end of 1987. ButThe black boxes shown in court were clearly NOT the ones from the plane and many questionable and/or unauthorized persons DID have access to them at various times in the investigation. My feeling: pilot did as he was told by air France. And cheaper! He was leader of the French air force's aerobatics team and, later, a Boeing 747 Flight Captain with Air France. Incidents with no casualties but with damage to the ac? Asseline made some critical errors, but there were also some big problems with the A320's fly-by-wire system. 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. Air France Flight 296Q was a chartered flight of a new Airbus A320-111 operated by Air France for Air Charter International. Well to see if like i said a truck were parked on the runway or if the runway at the end had trees which were not on the map that he had. He was a highly distinguished pilot with 10,463 flight hours. Self - Captain, Flight 296 (segment: Air France Flight 296Q) 2018 1 ep; Credits. 3 people died due to smoke. I am Captain Michel Asseline. Any experienced pilot, or physician for that matter, smells disaster. 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 . He is now flying in Australia. The transcription was later clarified with the assistance of the pilots involved. Ultimately, there is one fact that is not disputed - Captain Asseline flew the aircraft into a stall. 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. I'm confident in my skills & my co workers often come to me with questions or for help and always no matter how busy I am I gladly help them. Guilty. [2] Additionally, the captain was expecting from the flight plan to do the pass over runway 02 (3,281 feet (1,000m) long, paved) and was preparing for that alignment. A court in Colmar, in eastern France, also sentenced pilot Michel Asseline to 12 additional months, which were suspended. He is now flying in Australia. Captain Asseline, who maintained his innocence, would go on to serve ten months of prison and a further ten months of probation.[3]. [2], Traditionally, pilots respect the inherent dangers of flying at low speeds at low altitude, and normally, a pilot would not attempt to fly an aircraft so close to stalling with the engines at flight idle (minimum thrust setting in flight). It was one of the first domestic demonstrations of the new plane, which had gone into service earlier that year. Pilot was sentenced to imprisonment for about a year. He was a highly distinguished pilot with 10,463 flight hours. He was the lead test pilot for the A320 in its development. Do you feel that Captain Asseline should have aborted the flyover? I feel that the sentence is unfair. To confirm, a close friend and colleague worked with M. Asseline for a simulator acceptance, and assessed him also as over-confident to the point of being arrogant. then 'cause he climb down? When the crew suddenly asked the plane for more power and lift, it may have simply ignored them. Do you think the safety override crashed the plane when it forced the nose down, and the crash was inevitable? The purser went to announce instructions to the passengers but the public address system handset had been torn off. 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. I should estimate that in my experience most troubles and most possibilities for improvement add up to the proportions something like this: 94% belongs to the system (responsibility of management), 6% special. Page 315 of Out of the Crisis by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. . Asseline's experience of flying the aircraft type at the outer limits of its flight performance envelope may have led to overconfidence and complacency. 12:44:14 - the engine power is reduced to flight idle. There was no reply and the thick black smoke made a visual check impossible, so she exited the fuselage. Then, as she was helping another passenger whose clothes were on fire, she was carried forward by the surge of people rushing to escape. A website, http://www.crashdehabsheim.net/has been set up to analyze the scandal. 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. 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. 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/. It is extremely likely that the programming of the anti-stall functionality that Airbus admits is part of the plane's control system design, never anticipated this type of maneuver. ), The Prison of Precision by Stephen Vaughn MD, Ph.D. The captain would slow the aircraft to its minimum flying speed with maximum angle of attack, disable the "alpha floor" (the function that would otherwise automatically increase engine thrust when the angle of attack reached 15) and rely on the first officer to adjust the engine thrust manually to maintain 100 feet. Captain Michel Asseline. 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. French investigation says that Asseline was trying to do an overly-ambitious maneuver and made critical errors. This is a clear case of giving a good dog a bad name in other to hang it.Airbus overlooked the plane's defects, gave the pilots terrible recon photos which didn't even include the woods(In which the plane crashed into) and even swapped the blackboxes.Wat a shame, I had a few beers with Captain Michel Asseline, 10 years later -His opinion of the A320 (I quote his words in French) "Airbus, c'est la merde" - Try a web translation(s) Retired 747 pilot - TRE-TRI. [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. Today, the captain, Michel Asseline has lost his French pilot license for 8 years. Air France was especially impressed with the A320, which was the first fly-by-wire airplane ever to carry passengers. Most of the crash sequence, which occurred in front of several thousand spectators, was caught on video. And in the end its all a metter of money and intrest. The crash was a great embarrassment to Air France and Airbus, a European company with deep roots in France. This is a sad but fundamental truth lying at the heart of human nature. He has admitted these mistakes and paid for them. We thank you for your support and hope you'll join the largest aviation community on the web. 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. He should never have put it into that situation. This OEB stated that the barometric altitude indication on the A320 did not always function properly. Mayday also looks at the theory that it was the computer at fault, not the pilots. But its all about me and you. However why were passengers allowed on this flight. Our large helicopter section. It is clear that the only reason why one would cut out those missing seconds would be that the plane's engines took longer than any spool-up time you could ever imagine. Would YOU be happy to know your pilot was playing with your life? Losing altitude at the last minute. He was never given the chance. Some faceless desk-pilot added on a trip to a tiny airfield on the day of the flight but did not bother to do the hard work of preparing the particulars necessary to do so. The crash was a great embarrassment to Air France and Airbus, a European company with deep roots in France. Tail and Winglet closeups with beautiful airline logos. Since the plane was going slow, the computer overrode his input, and denied the maneuver. 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. 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