Originally Posted by AmuDarya
Not a pilot but all this seems highly irregular for an aircraft disaster investigation.
1. Needless reveal by Prosecutor (not an aviation professional or regulator) of screams heard on CVR within 48 hours even as relatives are still in deep shock.
2. How could the Prosecutor possibly know of intent or voluntary action at this early stage?
3. What investigative purpose or public purpose is served by revealing information from the CVR before a careful audio analysis, properly synced to flight data is complete? This is not an overnight process.
4. Conversely, strong statements by a person in a position of supervision over an investigation may 'set' minds and hinder the careful unearthing of alternative explanations and chain of events.
5. In any case, I understand that air accident investigations in France have only recently been assigned to regional prosecutors a few months ago as a result of administrative and legal changes.
It's quite possible the gent is unacquainted with the kind of painstaking, fact based, non-judgmental, non-accusatory mindset that I understand is needed for successful, quality air accident investigatory work.
In the US, aircraft crashes are considered federal crime scenes and under the jurisdiction of the FBI until criminal acts are ruled out. I was working at an aircraft crash scene with fatalities and quite surprised to see the FBI there from very early on.
The prosecutors are part of an investigative process which is run differently than a safety board inquiry. To make a statement based on what is known at this moment is not unheard of in criminal cases. Typical statements to the media will be, here is what we know now and here is what we are doing next.
Only in cases where the information must be withheld to help cross check against statements will they not release what they know. There is typically a duty to tell as much as they reasonably can to the public without delay. Releasing what they know about what is on the CVR is unlikely to change someone else's statement about the incident.