Yemeni airliner down?

[GobonaStick]

Yemenia official rules out human or technical error in plane crash

A senior Yemeni aviation official has dismissed the possibility of a technical or human error being behind the crash of a Yemenia aircraft into the Indian Ocean near the Comoros Islands last month.


Source: Gulf News (http://www.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/10336021.html)

[BOAC]

Yemenia official rules out human or technical error in plane crash- I guess that just leaves aliens??

[captjns]

Yemenia official rules out human or technical error in plane crash

And we should be shocked because???:ugh::ugh::}

[LeandroSecundo]

Hi,

Yemenia official rules out human or technical error in plane crash So ... seem's this point to a comeback of the "jaccob scenario" .... a "external" event !
Nota : can be also a "night birds" ingestion .... all is possible ...

Bye.

[RatherBeFlying]

Yemenia official rules out human or technical error in plane crashcan be also a "night birds" ingestionCanada Geese a bit off course:}

[hetfield]

FDR or CVR found.

Ein Flugschreiber von abgestürzter Yemenia-Maschine entdeckt - Yahoo! Nachrichten Deutschland (http://de.news.yahoo.com/2/20090828/twl-ein-flugschreiber-von-abgestuerzter-55dcd81.html)

[overthewing]

Black boxes...report in English: Comoros crash jet black boxes recovered - Yahoo! News UK (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090828/twl-uk-comoros-crash-blackbox-bd5ae06.html)

[Finn47]

The SABA news agency reports that only the FDR has been found so far. Searches will continue.

Saba Net - Yemen news agency (http://www.sabanews.net/en/news192442.htm)

[cats_five]

BBC reports one 'black box' found:

"The flight data recorder has been recovered from the sea almost two months after the Yemenia Airlines plane crashed near the Comoros Islands.
The so-called black box, which could reveal the cause of the crash, was found in the Indian Ocean at a depth of some 1,200 metres (3,900ft). "

Full story at: BBC NEWS | Africa | Comoros crash 'black box' found (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8226685.stm)

[Bill G Kerr]

from AP:
Col. Ismael Daho in charge of the Comoran crisis unit set up to deal with the crash says the plane's voice recorder was recovered Saturday. The data recorder was recovered on Friday.

[wes_wall]

Are there any updates? Or, can any be expected?

[20milesout]

@wes_wall:

News (well, not really): BEA started examination of the recorders on August 31 @ Le Bourget

Rumour: French officials (who wish to remain private) are talking about "pilot error".

Said who? Said Comores´ Newspaper Al-Watwan:

"C'est la thèse de l'erreur de pilotage qui serait désormais privilégiée par les enquêteurs, après le crash de l'Airbus A310 de Yemenia Airways, le 30 juin dernier, au large des Comores. Deux sources gouvernementales françaises ont évoqué cette hypothèse, sous couvert de l'anonymat, a-t-on appris vendredi..."

:confused:

[ATC Watcher]

The BEA has, as usual, problems with the politicians and Airbus swometimes applying pressure .Not on the investigators themselves , but on the " writers" of the reports.
Each word is scrutinized before it is allowed to be made public.

The French Sate has delivered his verdict ( "avion-poubelle" ) before the BEA investigators had a chance to read the recorders. It will be interesting to see how the final report is formulated.

And before crucifying the pilots, have a closer look at the approach chart of that airport and at the METAR of that day.

[singpilot]

EXACTLY! Well said.

Have actually done this arrival. More than once. Daytime, had to delay departure to arrive daytime. Is a demanding circle offshore (might as well be IFR at that altitude). Is why my company required daytime only.

The boxes are in the hands of the manufacturer and the BEA. Surely they will deliver the verdict forthwith.

[BOAC]

Have actually done this arrival. - yes, make it 'day only' or whatever - can you explain how they were flying where they were? With all the navaids there (?working- do we know?) it is hard to turn a 'difficult offshore circle' into impact with the sea in that position. Even if you 'take out' the VOR, there's an NDB, a/c radar, ILS Locator plus 10k+, FEW/2000 and a coastline. I just do not figure.

[singpilot]

I used to do a lot of 'celebrity flying', in a G3 or G4. Aspen. Eagle. Sun Valley.

Company rules were daytime only. At that time, the FAA felt the same way. As the years have gone by, I have seen those hard lines soften. I cannot imagine having something (anything) go south combined with a 'little weather' (to include a gusty windy day). I remember several crashes at those places where a 'little something' went wrong, and with Murphy in back, combined with a 'little weather', the inevitable crash occurrs.

The Monday morning gang assembles, and quarterbacks. I almost always think of that one flight at that airport, that almost 'went south', and remember how I got there, in that particular corner. Never directly, never on just one count. Meaning, someone was late, someone got the time zone wrong, the fuel truck/caterer/bag smashers/pax were late, the weather front arrived early, the wind never died like it was supposed to. We have all BTDT.

Comoros. Black hole. Volcano with MEA/Missed Approach issues. Almost always windy, with swirls and gusts cuz airport is downwind of terrain. No help from ground. Procedure turn is out over water, all the while with all of the above in the back of your mind.

Sure, there are worse places with fewer navaids, fewer rules even. But not tonight. Somethings' not right (Whatever), you miss. Not the usual, is it. F/O has been slow all night, and the miss goes raggedly, say. Your reserve plan kicks in. Not enough to go back to mainland, this next one has to be it.

At that height over the water it doesn't take much to lose the big picture, let alone the little picture down there on the tubes. Then Murphy shows up, say, and hands you an airplane problem, it's not long to splash. Being at the end of a long 'string' like those guys were that night is a force all it's own.

Just sayin. The boxes should tell the tale.

[wes_wall]

Just sayin. The boxes should tell the tale.

Lets hope that you are correct, that the powers that be will allow the boxes to speake the truth.

[threemiles]

AFP: Le crash de la Yemenia serait d une erreur de pilotage (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j6PyD1VVgTWoFQpA-bHlKL38Ztbg)

CFIT

[747passion]

It's an old piece of news. It contains a factual error the AC is not an A320.

[threemiles]

It contains a typo but the rest is information released from BEA pointing to CFIT.

[wes_wall]

Is there a translation to the above.
Thanks

[747passion]

I spoke with a Yemenia pilot and he told me that the destination was... well difficult.

In fact, he told me that many companies are no longer going to Comoro because they couldn't protect their crews and their assets.

Yemenia had to replace more than 2000 life jackets, dozens of first aid packs, dozens of portable lights... etc.

I am not even sure that there was a life jacket aboard the day of the crash...

[hetfield]

@747passion

Aha.

And your message concerning the accident is?

[jcjeant]

Hi,

That's the other side of this tragedy ... sometime forgoten by many ........

Yemenia Airways, le crash oublié

LE MONDE | 08.10.09


Est-il possible qu'on les ait oubliés ? Est-il normal que le crash de l'avion de la Yemenia Airways du 30 juin, qui a endeuillé toute la communauté comorienne de France, ne fasse pas davantage l'objet de curiosité, voire d'indignation dans la société française ? Et si cela arrangeait tout le monde - diplomates, marchands de voyages et d'avions - que l'accident de l'A310, dans lequel ont péri 141 passagers dont 139 d'origine comorienne, figure à jamais parmi les faits divers non éclaircis ? Le juge des référés au tribunal de Paris a accepté, mercredi 7 octobre, qu'une médiation judiciaire soit mise en place concernant les avances sur les dommages et intérêts réclamées par les familles endeuillées, celles-là mêmes qui veulent tant éviter que le silence ensevelisse la tragédie.
Car leurs questions foisonnent, leurs accusations fusent. Proférées parfois avec colère, parfois les larmes aux yeux. Sans grand argumentaire. Dans un immense désarroi. Ecrire que la plaie des Comoriens de France est à vif est un euphémisme. Dans les quartiers de Marseille, où avaient embarqué 61 passagers de l'Airbus, où vivent encore 80 000 d'entre eux, elle est béante. Avec, partout, cette impression d'abandon, de "lâchage" par le reste de la société française, nourrie à la fois par les deuils multiples au sein d'une même famille, l'accumulation de difficultés matérielles, l'obligation de se confronter aux administrations et l'absence de vraies réponses sur les causes de l'accident.
"Tout se passe comme si la communauté comorienne, réputée si discrète, devait avaler en silence le drame du 30 juin et ne pas déranger... alors qu'elle est paumée !, dit Marie M'ze, 39 ans, qui a perdu sa mère et son jeune frère dans la catastrophe. Si vous saviez sa détresse !" Ces femmes, dont certaines ne parlent pas français, qui se retrouvent murées dans leur HLM, ayant perdu leur compagnon qui avait un travail, remplissait les chèques, les papiers et faisait l'interface avec la société. Ces hommes qui ont perdu une épouse avec un ou plusieurs enfants et sont désormais seuls, face à des petits - parfois ceux de leur compagne disparue - et totalement paniqués. Engagée dans une association de défense des familles de victimes, Marie découvre "des maisons où les enfants ont faim, des foyers surendettés où personne n'a la moindre idée des démarches à entreprendre, des familles qui n'ont pas encore reçu l'acte de décès du père auquel vient d'être adressée une lettre de licenciement pour ne pas s'être présenté à son travail en juillet ; parfois l'apparition d'un deuxième voire d'un troisième foyer pour un homme disparu dans l'Airbus..."
La complexité des identités et structures familiales n'a guère facilité le travail des administrations dans l'établissement des actes de décès. Quel labeur pour établir les identités précises des disparus, notamment parce que plusieurs d'entre eux ne voyageaient pas sous leur vrai nom. Et quel embarras pour démêler les liens de famille, l'état civil comorien étant des plus sommaires, les couples parfois unis religieusement ou par un rite coutumier n'étant pas forcément mariés officiellement, les reconnaissances d'enfants ne suivant pas toujours la filiation classique, quelques hommes ayant plusieurs foyers répartis entre les deux pays.
"Ce n'est pas la France d'en bas, c'est la France du sous-sol, avec toute l'obscurité que cela peut engendrer", remarque tristement Ahmed Mohamed, président d'une association des familles, qui tente, de HLM en HLM, d'apaiser, expliquer, unifier une communauté traditionnellement éclatée en de multiples associations. Ici, l'époux, chargé de cadeaux et des économies de toute la famille, partait assister au "grand mariage" d'un proche, cette cérémonie traditionnelle qui propulse un homme parmi les "notabilités". Prostrée, dépressive, sa veuve suit le deuil dans un habit traditionnel, un enregistrement du Coran diffusé à fort volume dans un appartement où chuchotent quatre gamins. Il arrive qu'elle appelle Ahmed, le soir, quand il lui manque un peu de lait. Là, deux petits garçons veulent téléphoner à leur père au ciel tandis que le troisième affirme : "Papa savait nager. Il est sur une île, ou enlevé par les pirates, il faut aller le chercher."
Abandon par la communauté nationale ? "Sentiment d'abandon", corrige Ahmed Mohamed, qui reconnaît l'existence, dans la région de Marseille, de nombreuses initiatives pour aider les familles des passagers. La mairie par la mise à disposition de locaux et de logistique, le conseil général par la mobilisation, lors de trois jours exceptionnels, de tous ses travailleurs sociaux, la région par le vote d'une aide d'urgence de 67 000 euros pour les familles.
Et puis surtout l'association Aide aux victimes d'actes de délinquance (AVAD), membre du réseau national d'aide aux victimes (Inavem), et son service d'urgence, constamment en soutien des familles. Recensement des proches, visites à domicile, liens avec les caisses d'allocations familiales, la Sécurité sociale, le RMI, les employeurs ; aides en matière de logement, d'école, de centre aéré. "Ils ont empêché beaucoup d'entre nous de sombrer", reconnaît une vieille dame.
Ce n'est donc pas tant sur le manque d'aides matérielles que repose la suspicion d'oubli que sur le mystère autour de l'accident. Sur le silence des boîtes noires arrivées endommagées en France le 31 août, et sur lesquelles un travail délicat a dû être fait pour en récupérer les données et les rendre exploitables. Sur l'absence réelle d'explication du crash auquel n'a survécu qu'une adolescente, sauvée par un pêcheur, mais qui a dit avoir entendu des cris lors de sa nuit passée dans l'eau, accrochée à un débris de l'avion...
"Bien sûr, le Bon Dieu est souverain. C'était probablement leur jour ! Mais disparaître ainsi dans la nuit, dans la mer, sans que l'on comprenne comment, pourquoi, à cause de qui, de quoi, c'est juste inacceptable. On a le droit de savoir. Et s'il y a des coupables, ils doivent être punis." Elle se tient droite, elle est émue, Djamila Ali, 31 ans, qui, depuis des semaines, se débat dans le chagrin, les difficultés financières et les questions. Sa soeur aînée et son neveu étaient dans l'avion pour Moroni. Et ce ne sont pas les paroles du président de l'Union des Comores, M. Sambi, affirmant aux familles des victimes, deux jours après le drame, que "leurs disparus sont morts en martyrs, cela devrait emplir leur coeur de joie", qui lui apportent un soulagement. Au contraire.
Quand elle rencontre d'autres jeunes femmes au sein d'une association marseillaise de victimes, les discours ont des accents de mutinerie. "Comment connaître la paix ?, demande Nadjati Youssoufa, 30 ans, qui a perdu deux frères et une sœur. On veut savoir pourquoi cet avion-poubelle pouvait encore voler ; pourquoi les secours ont tant tardé dans cette nuit de cauchemar où des passagers, à l'eau, auraient pu être sauvés. Il y a eu incompétence, non-assistance à personnes en danger. Et mépris pour nous tous."
Mépris ? Oui, mépris, approuvent d'autres femmes assemblées autour de Mariata Youssoufa, la sœur de Nadjati, dont l'association hisse le drapeau de la colère, nullement apaisée par la rumeur faisant état d'une erreur de pilotage. Mépris de la part de Yemenia Airways, cette compagnie basée à Sanaa, qui exploitait la ligne des Comores dans des conditions dénoncées en vain depuis des années et dont la communication avec les familles, depuis le crash, a été, selon elles, "lamentable". (Le Monde a tenté, sans succès, de joindre un responsable de la compagnie.) Mépris de la part des autorités des Comores, dont le mutisme et la responsabilité officielle dans la conduite de l'enquête continuent d'angoisser les familles. Mépris des cabinets d'avocats américains qui, dès le premier jour, ont accouru pour proposer aux familles désespérées leurs services, leur faisant miroiter des indemnités en millions de dollars, sur lesquelles, bien sûr, ils prélèveraient leur pourcentage. Mépris enfin du gouvernement français, ajoutent certaines, déçues que le président Sarkozy n'ait pas tenu sa promesse de recevoir les familles et qu'il ne semble pas vouloir exercer sur le Yémen la pression diplomatique qui leur paraît s'imposer. "Nous sommes français, pourtant !, proteste Nadjati Youssoufa. D'origine comorienne, certes. Avec des liens très forts avec nos îles. Mais Français. Alors, à l'Etat français d'être à nos côtés !"
Pour les familles, cet Etat a en tout cas un visage : celui de Christine Robichon, ex-ambassadrice de France au Soudan, chargée depuis le premier jour par le Quai d'Orsay d'assurer le lien avec les proches des victimes. Elle a multiplié les réunions, s'est rendue aux Comores, au Yémen, à Marseille, a reçu les associations, travaillé avec l'ambassadeur des Comores, tenu le plus possible informés tous les proches.
Mais les familles s'impatientent, convaincues qu'il est de l'intérêt des Comores et de Yemenia Airways de bloquer l'information. Elles craignent aussi que la menace d'annuler la commande de dix Airbus brandie par le patron de la compagnie yéménite, irrité par les premières critiques françaises, ne réfrène toute velléité d'enquête. "Trop de questions encombrent notre tête, note le vieil imam Danoun dans sa mosquée de la rue Gaillard. Cette communauté pacifique a droit à la vérité." Elle l'attend.
Annick Cojean

LE MONDE | 08.10.09


Is it possible that we had forgotten? Is it normal that the plane crash of Yemenia Airways June 30, which struck the entire community of Comorian France, does not further the object of curiosity or indignation in French society? And if that suited everyone - diplomats, merchants and airplane travel - the accident of the A310, which has killed 141 passengers including 139 of Comorian origin, is forever among the various facts unthinned? The judge at the Paris court agreed Wednesday, October 7, a mediation order be put in place on the advances of damages claimed by the bereaved families, the very ones who want to avoid both silence bury tragedy.
For questions abound, their accusations fuse. Uttered sometimes angrily, sometimes with tears in his eyes. Without much argument. In a huge confusion. Write the wound Comorians of France is keen is an understatement. In neighborhoods of Marseilles, which had 61 passengers onboard the Airbus, which has just 80 000 of them, it is gaping. With anywhere, that feeling of abandonment, "dropping" by the rest of French society, fed by both multiple bereavements within the same family, the accumulation of material difficulties, the obligation to confront the government and no real answers on the causes of the accident.
"It is as if the Comorian community, deemed so discreet, would swallow in silence the tragedy of June 30 and do not bother ... so it is paumée!, M'zee said Marie, 39, who lost his mother and his younger brother in the disaster. If you knew her distress! " These women, some do not speak French, which is found walled up in their public housing, having lost their companion, who had a job, met the checks, papers and made the interface with society. These men who have lost a wife with one child and are now only facing small - sometimes those of their missing companion - and totally panicked. Committed to an association defending families of victims, Mary discovers "homes where children are hungry, the indebted households where nobody has any idea of the steps to take, families who have not yet received the document father's death which has just been sent a letter of dismissal for failure to report to work in July, sometimes the appearance of a second or third home for a man who disappeared in the Airbus. .. "
The complexity of identities and family structures did not facilitate the work of governments in the establishment of death certificates. What work to establish the precise identities of the dead, especially because many of them do not travel under their real name. And what an embarrassment to unravel family ties, marital status Comorian being more sketchy, couples sometimes united by a religious or customary rites are not necessarily officially married, recognition of children do not always follow the classical descent few men having several homes located between the two countries.
"This is not the bottom of France is the France of the basement with all the darkness that it can generate," says sadly Ahmed Mohamed, president of an association of families who tries of HLM in HLM, soothe, explain, unify a community traditionally split into multiple groups. Here, husband, bearing gifts and economies of entire families, left to attend the "big wedding" to a close, the traditional ceremony that propels a man among the "notables". Prostrate and depressed, his widow mourning follows a traditional dress, a recording of the Quran with high volume disseminated in an apartment where four boys whispering. Sometimes she called Ahmed the evening, when it lacks a little milk. There, two little boys want to call their father in heaven while the third says: "Dad knew how to swim. It is on an island, or kidnapped by pirates, he must go get him."
Abandoned by the national community? "Feelings of abandonment," corrects Ahmed Mohamed, who recognizes the existence in the Marseilles region, many initiatives to assist families of passengers. The Town Hall by the provision of facilities and logistics, general council for the mobilization, during three days outstanding of all his workers, the region by the vote of emergency aid of 67 000 for families.
And then especially the association Aid to victims of crime (AVAD), member of the National Network of Victim Assistance (INAVEM), and emergency service, constant support of families. Census relatives, home visits, links with the family allowance, social security, RMI, employers, assistance in housing, schools, outdoor recreation areas. "They have prevented many of us from sinking," acknowledges an old lady.
This is not so much the lack of material aid that is the suspicion of neglect on the mystery surrounding the accident. In the silence of the black boxes arrived damaged in France August 31, and a delicate work which had to be made to recover the data and make them usable. On the actual lack of explanation of the crash in which a teenager has survived, rescued by a fisherman, but said he heard screams during the night spent in the water, clinging to a fragment of the plane ...
"Of course, God is sovereign. It was probably their day! But disappear in the night in the sea without an understanding of how, why, because of who, what, it's just unacceptable. We have the right to know. And if there are guilty, they must be punished. " She is right, it is moved, Jamila Ali, 31, who, for weeks, struggling in pain, financial difficulties and questions. Her older sister and nephew were on the plane to Moroni. And these are not the words of the President of the Union of Comoros, Mr Sambi, saying the families of the victims, two days after the tragedy, that "their dead relatives were martyred, that should fill their hearts with joy" which provide relief. On the contrary.
When she meets other young women in an association of victims of Marseilles, the speeches have accents of mutiny. "How can I find peace? Calls Nadjati Yusuf, 30, who lost two brothers and a sister. We want to know why the plane could still fly garbage, why the relief effort so late in the night of nightmare where passengers water could have been saved. There were incompetent, non-assistance to endangered persons. And contempt for us all. "
Contempt? Yes, contempt, trusting other women gathered around Mariata Youssoufa's sister Nadjati, whose association hoisted the flag of anger, not appeased by the rumor of a pilot error. Contempt from Yemenia Airways, the company based in Sana'a, which operated the line of Comoros in conditions complained in vain for years and whose communication with the family since the crash, was, according to them, "lamentable" . (The world has tried, unsuccessfully, to join a company official.) Contempt of the authorities of the Comoros, whose silence and official responsibility in the conduct of the investigation continue anguish families. Contempt for U.S. law firms who, from day one, have rushed to offer their desperate families to services, with promises of compensation in millions of dollars, on which, of course, they would collect their percentage. Contempt of the French government finally, add some, disappointed that President Sarkozy has not kept his promise to accommodate families and it does not seem to want to exert on the Yemeni diplomatic pressure they deem necessary. "We are French, though!, Protests Nadjati Youssoufa. Comorian Originally, of course. With strong links with our islands. But French. So, the French state to be on our side!"
For families, the state has at least one face: that of Christine Robichon, former Ambassador of France in Sudan, loaded from the first day of the Quai d'Orsay to maintain the link with the relatives of victims. She has held many meetings, visited the Comoros, Yemen, Marseilles, received the association, worked with the Ambassador of the Comoros, held as much as possible all the relatives informed.
But families are getting impatient, he is convinced of the value of the Comoros and Yemenia Airways to block information. They also fear that the threat to cancel the order for ten Airbus wielded by the head of the Yemeni company, irritated by the early French critics, not curbs any hint of investigation. "Too many questions cluttering our head, note old imam at his mosque Danoun of Gaillard Street. This peaceful community is entitled to the truth." She waits.
Annick Cojean

[Xeque]

Does anyone know if anything at all is happening with regard to the investigation onto this tragedy? Were one or both of the recorders recovered eventually and has there been any report of the contents?

[SPA83]

Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie ! (http://www.anacm-comores.com/raports-incidents.php)

[jcjeant]

Hi,

Little more ....

Quatre experts judiciaires nommés

La juge d’instruction parisienne madame Katia Dubreuil vient de nommer fin septembre quatre experts, qui ont jusqu’au 31 décembre 2010 pour rendre leur rapport. Il s’agit de deux pilotes instructeurs, un expert indépendant en maintenance aéronautique et un expert en aviation civile auprès de la Cour de cassation.

Ils devront déterminer les causes de l’accident. Ils auront aussi pour responsabilité d’analyser et d’exploiter les deux boîtes noires de l’Airbus A 310 retrouvées fin août. Pour cela, ils seront assistés par les militaires de l’institut de recherche criminelle de la gendarmerie nationale de Rosny-sous-Bois. Enfin, ils auront pour mission de dresser un bilan des opérations de maintenance effectuées sur l’appareil, et de mesurer la qualité de la formation du personnel naviguant de la compagnie yéménite.

D’autre part, des avocats d'un groupe de 43 victimes déplorent le manque de transparence des assurances de la compagnie aérienne. « Nous n’avons toujours pas d’interlocuteur au niveau des assurances de la compagnie aérienne ».

Me Saïd Larifou dénonce aussi le comportement de certains confrères : “Des avocats anglo-saxons se disant spécialisés dans ce genre d’affaire démarchent les familles des victimes. Certains se sont rendus à Marseille et aux Comores pour proposer leurs services”, explique-t-il.

Enfin, le propriétaire de l’A 310 reste à ce jour un véritable mystère. “Nous ne savons toujours pas qui est le propriétaire de l’avion, qui, cela nous le savons, était loué à la compagnie Yemenia. Les documents en question se trouveraient sous scellés au Yemen.

Des infos selon "Le Journal de l'ile de la Réunion (clicanoo.com)

Four legal experts appointed

The judge Katia Parisian Madame Dubreuil has appointed four experts in late September, which have until December 31, 2010 for their report. There are two instructor pilots, an independent expert in aircraft maintenance and aviation expert with the Civil Court of Cassation.

They will determine the causes of the accident. They also have a responsibility to analyze and exploit the two black boxes of the Airbus A 310 found in late August. For this, they will be assisted by soldiers of the Institute of Criminal Research of the Gendarmerie Nationale in Rosny-sous-Bois. Finally, have the mission to take stock of maintenance performed on the device, and measure the quality of training of flight crews of the Yemeni airline.

On the other hand, advocates of a group of 43 victims lament the lack of transparency of the insurance carrier. "We still have no contact at the insurance carrier.

Me Said Larifou also denounced the behavior of some colleagues: "The Anglo-Saxon lawyers saying that specialize in this type of case canvass families of victims. Some went to Marseille and the Comoros to offer their services, "says he.

Finally, the owner of A 310 remains to this day a mystery. "We still do not know who owns the plane, which, as we know it was leased to the airline Yemenia. The documents in question were sealed in Yemen.

News by "Le Journal de l'Ile de la Reunion (clicanoo.com)

[SPA83]

you can have some information here too (french language) : http://henrimarnetcornus.20minutes-blogs.fr/media/01/01/184515887.pps

[GobonaStick]

Not directly about the investigation but this has come out too

Arabs back Yemenia as French safety row deepens (http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/10/20/333689/arabs-back-yemenia-as-french-safety-row-deepens.html)

[Mister Geezer]

Moroni is not particularly difficult - providing you use all the tools that are available to you to maintain your situational awareness.

[TwoOneFour]

Latest conspiracy theory here (http://www.almotamar.net/en/6851.htm).

[hetfield]

If true, the french goverment will also manage this one somehow to get out of it.

[Finn47]

I can´t get that link to work for some reason, so here´s another website quoting the "French missile" theory:

Arab Monitor - Sito di informazione dal mondo arabo (http://www.arabmonitor.info/news/dettaglio.php?idnews=28718&lang=en)

[Finn47]

The Wall Street Journal quotes "sources close to the investihation", as usual, saying it looks like the pilots lost situational awareness and control of the aircraft during the circle-to-land approach:

Pilot Error Suspected in Yemenia Airways Crash - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125772122141737159.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_world)

[BOAC]

I have made my feelings on the usefulness of the WSJ aviation reports before. From that 'news' article:-

The approach can be difficult at night and in bad weather because pilots have to bank and circle while ensuring they line up with the runway. If they turn too sharply, the plane can end up too high and too fast, without enough time to make the proper descent.

Sounds exactly like what I call a circling approach?

According to the people familiar with the inquiry, the plane had trouble maintaining steady altitude in the turn, possibly because of strong winds. Air-traffic controllers and navigation equipment provided a landing path to the pilots, who circled the airport to land. The pilots failed to stop their turn in time and didn't correctly line up the aircraft with the runway. Then the plane, according to people familiar with the probe, stalled and the pilots lost control.

OK - so they went through the centreline and stalled. Those 'winds' can make it really difficult to 'maintain steady altitude'? Perhaps they mean 'turbulence'?

The aircraft ended up continuing for several miles before plunging into the Indian Ocean, according to the people familiar with the inquiry.

Ah! It didn't stall then? In fact it was not even turning finals.

All in all a really useful article:ugh:

[threemiles]

Thanks for the reflex.

Even if not spelled out in a professional manner the scenario sounds common to other accidents (Armavia, Kenya 310, Kenya 738, Gulf Air, Colgan, Perm to name a few)

Where the pilots trained to Soviet type horizons before?

[CONF iture]

BOAC,
WSJ is what people like to call a Reference ...
Andy Pasztor has some difficulties to do without his favorite formula "according to someone"
Andy, you could also speak for yourself or quote and name precisely your source if you intend to practice serious journalism.

[Diamond Bob]

Practicing serious journalism or not, Andy seems to have the story when no one else does. He's had the scoop on all the recent crashes and incidents. He definitely has some sources, even though unnamed.

[20milesout]

Yemenia is now seeking a third party to adjudicate in the accident investigation:

Link (http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/11/17/335005/dubai-09-yemenia-seeks-third-party-to-investigate-a310.html)

[wes_wall]

Any further info re the missle question? Strange, if the military was involved, seems like boo coo info would be streaming out of the woodwork.
Not another French deal I hope.

[v1abort]

i work for a company that flies a private jet in there often.
on a good day it is a scenic no brainer approach to either runway. i have only seen minor bad wx conditions but can see if they were bad wx and at night it would be no where any pilot would really want to be. yes big runway and one ILS but the winds are shifty and there is nothing but crazy ass flashing lights to assure you of no cfit on the other runway.

in my opinion, if they came from Yemen they had lots of fuel and probably could have flown back to the departure airport if they wanted. fuel is not cheap in maroni so they would have round tripped it. so if they crashed it then they thought they could get in. but that runway at night with those winds would be a nightmare. nothing but some flashing lights on a circling approach.

simply put, unfamiliar with the area, bad wx, and black night syndrome made this happen.

i have met with the people still sorting through the bodies till today and it is not good.

i am sure the pilots did all they could but this place can be tricky and needs to be looked at before further developement on the island leads to another incedent.

[BOAC]

Granted all the reported 'difficulties' of this airport (of which I have no experience) but what still remains a complete mystery to me is the reported location of the crash. All this talk of poor lighting, 'shifty' winds and the like does not explain a crash so far away from any conceivable approach or circuit pattern and, as far as I can see, the 'wrong' side of difficult terrain.

[v1abort]

does seem strange given the location of the actual crash, but i think all the other factors (winds, very dark night, poor facilities, missed approach) contributed to the classic snow ball effect accident.

don't know if these pilots flew there before but (and i am not the Moroni expert) on my first trip there it was a little stressful. non radar environment, difficult communications at times, not knowing really what to expect. i would think most pilots would take a little tailwind to land on 02. these guys didn't have that option and things got hectic.

possibly with the equipment change for this flight the pilots had not gone there.?

[Mister Geezer]

Some bodies were washed up on the African coast recently. I saw a DC-9 at Moroni at the end of October that carried the bodies back. I was told that it was not possible at that time to identify all of the bodies. RIP. :(

[punkalouver]

BEA Blasts Comoros Over Yemenia Crash

By Robert Wall [email protected]
LONDON

The lack of progress in the crash investigation of Yemenia flight IY626 has drawn unusually sharp criticism from the French air accident investigation office, the BEA, which is urging the Comoros authorities to move to publish a final report without further delay.

The dispute centers around the crash of an Airbus A310 flying from Sanaa, Yemen to Moroni, Comoros on June 30, 2009 in which 153 persons died with a single survivor. Most of the passengers originated in France.

BEA director Jean-Paul Troadec on July 5 sent an unusually blunt letter to the head of the accident investigation complaining that the review has not made sufficient progress. He notes that a report has been compiled by local authorities, which was completed last month, but still has not been made public. He also notes that document appears to be mere findings of initial facts, which should have been issued within three months of the accident.

He criticizes the fact that data recorders have not been analyzed because of what he characterizes as baseless arguments, noting that France contributed €3 million to recover the so-called black boxes.

BEA reached out to the local authorities before, including last year when it proposed a work plan to advance the investigation, but no action has been taken. Troadec writes that he is left to conclude the accident investigation has failed to advance since September 2009.

The BEA chief also calls on his counterpart to quickly put together a work program to see the investigation to its conclusion.

French political involvement early on has contributed to a difficult atmosphere in the IY626 investigation. Politicians accused Yemenia of operating an unsafe aircraft, causing a backlash with authorities in Yemen. The airline said it wanted an independent, third party investigation, citing the attacks from France.

AVIATION WEEK (http://web02.aviationweek.com/aw/mstory.do?id=news/awx/2011/07/19/awx_07_19_2011_p0-349274.xml&channel=mro&headline=BEA%20Blasts%20Comoros%20Over%20Yemenia%20Crash)

[hetfield]

The lack of progress in the crash investigation of Yemenia flight IY626 has drawn unusually sharp criticism from the French air accident investigation office, the BEA,

Ooops, what about the "progress" of AF447?

:ooh:

[punkalouver]

Yemenia faces mounting French pressure over crash probe 13 Dec 2011
Yemeni flag-carrier Yemenia could come under pressure from the European Commission as France's government becomes increasingly impatient with investigative progress on a fatal Airbus A310 accident.The Yemenia A310 crashed off the coast of the Comoros Islands in June 2009, killing 152 on board, but the investigation has "stalled", said French transport minister Thierry Mariani.

He reiterated French determination to obtain an explanation for the accident, but added that - despite offers of assistance from France's Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses - there had been a lack of co-operation from the Yemeni authorities and no inquiry report from the Comoros.

Following discussions with representatives of the victims' families, Mariani said: "The government is more determined than ever to shed some light on this tragedy."

He said the situation was "unacceptable" and that France would maintain diplomatic pressure and examine all options available, adding that this includes exploring, with the European Commission, the implications of the Yemeni authorities' attitude regarding flight safety at Yemenia.

Yemenia has previously been discussed by the European Air Safety Committee - responsible for drawing-up the blacklist of banned airlines - but has not faced restrictions to its services as a result.

Yemenia faces mounting French pressure over crash probe (http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/yemenia-faces-mounting-french-pressure-over-crash-probe-365758/)

[punkalouver]

I wonder if the French read out the recorders. Maybe they will just do an investigation themselves.

[ATC Watcher]

The BEA knows basically what happenned. Problem is unless the Investigation State formally request the BEA to publish something, they are not allowed to. Hence the frustration.