Quote from roulishollandais:
"Is it usual to see such mistakes punished by nine months firm jail?"
Probably not in the UK, and
AFAIK not in other Anglophone countries, but "usual" is not a word that can easily be applied to this accident. I know nothing of the judicial process that led to the sentence.
I tried my best to base my assessment as much as possible on my interpretation of the published DFDR, rather than the narrative of the reports, and have yet to finish reading the captain's account. If the published DFDR is good - and so far I haven't read anything that proves otherwise - I doubt that the three main errors I describe will need much amendment. They are harder on the crew than the BEA report, which - in the tradition of air accident findings - carefully avoided direct criticism.
My opinion is that no one should be imprisoned unless (s)he is found guilty of a criminal act, and I see nothing to suggest that at Habsheim. There were misjudgments that led to fatalities, and a degree of negligence may have been involved. But as long as sane pilots are sitting lawfully at the sharp end of an aircraft, it is difficult for a prosecutor to demonstrate a casual disregard for the safety of passengers and crew.
To pick up on Dozy Wannabe's point, the tendency in some countries to prosecute personnel who are responsible for the safe conduct of flights, and who are thought to have made errors of commission or omission, positively discourages self-reporting of an error that might cause an accident next time. On the other hand, there can be no authority without responsibility. So the captain must ultimately carry the can, but what sanction should be imposed when he drops it?
The reality is that, even when exonerated from any blame for a big, publicised accident, more often than not aspects of a captain's performance will be questioned overtly or covertly within the airline, effectively ruining his or her career. And, if the situation becomes intolerable, the very fact of having been in the public eye will frighten-off any prospective employer.
There may be worse punishments than nine months at the president's pleasure. Nowadays, senior politicians seem to redeem themselves from their indiscretions in a year or two. Pilots don't.