Originally Posted by pilot-br
ATC Watcher,
You are arguing that airspace safety improvement and criminal liability are mutually exclusive, and they aren't. We want our skies safer, we fly here, so I am more interested than everyone in this forum. And I am not a lawyer, not an attorney, not a pilot, and it is not a MS flight simulator pilot that pretend to be a pilot that will give me lessons. I want to know why 154 of my friends died.
For a concise argument about why criminal prosecution and the conduct of an accident ninvestigation aimed at finding causes and improving safety are conflicting, I refer you to the
Joint Resolution by various organisations involved in aviation safety.
To quote its key points:
[...]
Recognizing that information given voluntarily by persons interviewed during the course of safety investigations is valuable, and that such information, if used by criminal investigators or prosecutors for the purpose of assessing guilt and punishment, could discourage persons from providing accident information, thereby adversely affecting flight safety;
[...]
1. [...] By identifying the “what” and the “why” of an accident, aviation safety professionals will be better equipped to address accident prevention for the future. Criminal investigations can and do hinder the critical information gathering portions of an accident investigations, and subsequently interfere with successful prevention of future aviation industry accidents.
2. [...] The benefit of gaining accurate information to increase safety standards and reduce recurring accidents greatly outweighs the retributive satisfaction of a criminal prosecution, conviction, and punishment. Increasing safety in the aviation industry is a greater benefit to society than seeking criminal punishment for those “guilty” of human error or tragic mistakes.
[...]
Bernd