Could you be prosecuted for "abandoning" your craft??

[Scoobster]

Not sure if this is the appropriate place and not that an Aviator would ever do this - well I would hope not..

But thinking back to the Costa Concordia disaster the Captain was prosecuted for abandoning his ferry/not evacuating etc..Got me thinking totally at random..

Are there provisions in the ANO under EASA for prosecution of a Commander for abandoning his aircraft?

I don't really know where I am going with this... but I would imagine no one would ever jump out the plane with a parachute and let it crash or ditch the plane on purpose etc but just wondered if there has ever been a situation that has resulted in imminent prosecution like the Costa Concordia disaster..

[Genghis the Engineer]

Wasn't the Costa Concordia prosecuted under standardish Italian law? Wikipedia tells me that the charges were primarily those of manslaughter.

I'd assume that much the same would apply here - either the state you were flying over, or the state of registry if you were in international airspace, would most likely charge the captain with something along the lines of attempted or actual manslaughter of the people he left on board who didn't know how to fly an aeroplane.

I'm not a lawyer, but it seems a reasonable guess to me anyhow.

[Scoobster]

I think the prosecution was multiple manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning his craft or otherwise known as dereliction of duty as a Captain.. under maritime law - or from what google tells me "the law of the sea" and a convention called the Athens Convention..

In an SEP it would be pretty hard to do such an act but I wondered if it was actually an offence under any "law" or the ANO etc

Perhaps some one with the know how can step in..

I would be stabbing in the dark.

[DaveW]

I, as Captain, will be the last to leave the aircraft.

If I pass you on the way out, you are to assume the rank of Captain.


(I've often felt that speech should be examined as part of the PPL. :ok:)

[Mach Jump]

...but I wondered if it was actually an offence under any "law" or the ANO etc

I don't recall ever reading of any such specific offence.

As Captain, you have a general responsibility for the safety of your crew, passengers, and members of the public. If, after an accident, it could be shown that you didn't take all reasonable steps to ensure their safety, I'm sure you could be successfully sued by injured parties.

[abgd]

If I happened to be wearing a parachute when the wing fell off I would jump out too, whether or not my passengers were wearing one. Arguably even a life sentence would be preferable to a death sentence.

There are a whole host of differences between an aircraft and a ship. The amount of time you're likely to have to evacuate. The carriage of lifeboats and non-carriage of parachutes. It's silly to draw comparisons.

That said, the solution is easy - don't wear a parachute or any protective gear your passengers don't have access to then the situation won't arise.

[rarelyathome]

(I've often felt that speech (http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Goes-Might-Come-Down/dp/B00002MOJK/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1424133055&sr=1-1) should be examined as part of the PPL. :ok:)

also available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KbUNzi58wM

[phiggsbroadband]

Would you actually get any passengers to fly with you, if you are wearing a parachute, and they are not?

[Rod1]

"Would you actually get any passengers to fly with you, if you are wearing a parachute, and they are not? "

Sometimes essential for W&B reasons.

This story is from a long time ago so I may have got some of the details wrong. It involves the first female to eject from a British aircraft

The pilot was struck in the face by a black headed gull following a bird strike at 250 ft. Both crew ejected and the aircraft crashed near Great Driffield, North Humberside The rear member was a female ATC cadet and she became the first woman to eject from a British aircraft.

The pilot could not talk because of damage to his jaw from the bird. He ejected immediately. The girl in the back delayed for an understandable instant as she had not been told to eject (remember the aircraft was at 250ft) and followed him out. Because of the delay the cadet came down on the burning wreckage and hurt her legs. The pilot ran into the flames and pulled her out. Both crew were badly injured. The pilot got court marshalled for abandoning the cadet but got off!

[pulse1]

Not quite the same but the thing which brought my attention to the existence of Pprune many years ago was when the flight crew of the hijacked Afghan 727 escaped from the flight deck leaving the passengers behind.

A headline said that "professional pilots criticise the Afghan pilots" and I wondered how they new that. Then I found this website.

[Whopity]

I don't recall ever reading of any such specific offence.
Try Articles 137 and 138 Endangering safety of an aircraft
137 A person must not recklessly or negligently act in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft,
or any person in an aircraft.

Endangering safety of any person or property
138 A person must not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any
person or property.

[Mach Jump]

Could you be prosecuted for "abandoning" your craft??

I don't recall ever reading of any such specific offence

I meant an offence of 'Abandoning your aircraft' specifically.

In the case of the Captain parachuting from an aircraft in flight, Arts 137 & 138 would certainly apply, but not, I would suggest, if the Captain left the aircraft after an accident, but before all the passengers were evacuated.

[Whopity]

In an emergency you can get away with anything, but if anything is considered reckless, Endangerment is the catch-all.

[late-joiner]

The RAF took a dim view of the Captain leaving an aircraft for fun....
https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-110764510/high-jump-for-raf-pilot-who-parachuted-with-the-sas

[suninmyeyes]

The flight crew of the hijacked Pan am 747 in Karachi in 1986 escaped via the inertia reel handles. Probably a split second decision which did effectively ground the aircraft. Shame it ended with a lot of fatalities. I often wondered if the flight crew were ever criticised by Pan Am or if Pan Am accepted the judgement of the crew at the time.


Pan Am Flight 73 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_73)