Miami Personal Injury Lawyer - Air France

Airline layoffs and cut backs- is there any relationship to the recent plane crashes?

Gabrielle D'Alemberte — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:25:00 GMT

The economy is in freefall, and once again the airlines are in trouble. Of course, in recent times, with a few exceptions, the airlines and the airline industry are often in trouble. Last year, the industry had problems due to high oil prices. In 2007, the industry feared it was in trouble because of labor relations difficulties. There have been troubles because of short changing long time airline employees and pension holders. None of this has made the airlines more popular among the public.

As with any number of large corporations, labor costs are one of the airline industries biggest expenses and when trouble comes, layoffs are sometimes necessary. With the industry in perpetual crisis, the airlines have indeed laid off many workers.

This process is coming at a time when many airlines are under fire for inadequate maintenance, poor pilot training, and failing to correct the problem of pilot fatigue. It then becomes reasonable to ask what effects these continued layoffs may have on the ability of the airlines to provide safe travel services for their customers.

Layoffs may take any number of forms. Employees may be let go for performance related reasons, they may be encouraged to take early retirement, or the company may simply lop off the least senior employees. Some of this process may be controlled by union contracts, some may not. In any event, at many airlines it appears that employees to be laid-off are selected either on purely fiscal terms, by encouraging those who make the most to take early retirement, or they are selected purely in seniority terms.

The process whereby any company makes hiring and firing decisions is just not very transparent. This makes it difficult to know if some in the industry are sacrificing pilot experience and skill in exchange for lower wage costs. However, if safety is the paramount concern, encouraging long terms pilots to retire and retaining younger pilots solely on the basis of seniority without regard for skill seems a poor method for providing safer skies. Are airlines choosing to retain and reward skilled pilots or to replace them with less skilled pilots who can be paid less? There is not evidence of this that I know of, but it's a question that needs to be examined to ensure this is not happening.

The airlines are common carriers. This means, in legal terms, that they have a duty to provide the highest level of safety possible. In the event of future aviation tragedies, such as the recent commuter flight in Buffalo, we may be sure that regulators and the bereaved families of the victims will be looking very closely at every aspect of an airline’s operation. Training and retention decisions should be no more immune to these examinations than any other aspect of doing business.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gabrielle D'Alemberte

Another Airbus Crash- Travelers becoming concerned about airline safety records and airline travel

Gabrielle D'Alemberte — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:01:18 GMT

Yemen flight IY 626 was en route from Yemen to Comoros when it encountered what was described as some “tough weather”. The Airbus A310, holding 153 people, was preparing to land when the plane flew into 71 mile an hour winds. The plane was only 11 miles from its destination when it crashed into the Indian Ocean, killing all those onboard.

An HIS Jane’s expert, Chris Yates, stated that “weather may indeed have been the primary cause of the crash of this Yemeni Air A310-300.” The Airbus jet that ultimately crashed into the Indian Ocean was being monitored by EU authorities, according to Dominique Bussereau, France’s transportation minister. Bussereau told French reporters that inspectors had noted several faults on the Yemenia Airways jet, and was being more closely monitored in preparation to be heard by the European Union Security Committee. Yates told CNN that “It’s more than likely to be a weather-related incident. Having said that you cannot rule out a maintenance issue”

This is the second crash involving an Airbus jet in only a month. Air France Airbus A330 crashed while on route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro on June 1^st. All of the passengers have been presumed dead and the cause of the crash is still under investigation. United States accident investigators have been researching recent airspeed and altitude indicator failures aboard the Airbus jet airplanes. Although two flights this past month have reported problems in their instrumentation, they have been able to land safely with no injuries. These issues have raised concern as to the composite materials used in the construction of the Airbus jets, with questions of its strength and ability to withstand stress.

A recent statement made by a certified aircraft maintenance professional in Florida said that “airbus products are the flimsiest and most poorly designed as far as airframe structure is concerned by an almost obsession to utilize composite materials.”

The aviation community, and the world as a whole, waits to see what the investigation will bring as to the fate of the Airbus jets. As those around the world pay their respects to those lost in such tragedies beyond their control, we look forward to a safer plane flight tomorrow.

Meanwhile, as a first in several decades, travelers are investigating airline safety records and considering that airline travel is not the only means to get around. To get a pulse of how the world is reacting, not just those involved "in the industry", take a glimpse on Twitter and Facebook. You will find the messages about Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett have been replaced with "I hope my flight isn't an Airbus" and "I think we will drive instead of fly". Between the flurry of high profile deaths, and the reporting of back to back major commercial airline crashes, questions of one's own mortality seem inevitable. Still, as a sign of hope and life, a five year old was found today among the wreckage. He is alive and doing fine. A miracle of enormous significance in these troubling times.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gabrielle D'Alemberte

Airline Companies: Beware of Public Perception. The Public is Watching, Waiting, All Eyes are on You. It’s No Time to Make a Mistake.

Robert Parks — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:38:07 GMT

As I scan the latest news articles and Google alerts, there seems to an influx of stories focused on air travel safety. Could it be the media playing on the devastating Air France Flight 447 – only 50 bodies found, minimal debris recovered and still the French submarine searches for the Black Box beacon signals, which will expire within the week leaving the truth under the ocean.

One story that caught my eye was posted on eTurboNews Federal Aviation Administration administrator Randy Babbit, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and reps from the airline business met in Washington, D.C. to discuss finding ways for airlines to voluntarily make flying safer.

What are they proposing? It was suggested that the airlines create a manifesto to reassure travelers that “airlines are doing all they can to ensure pilots are beyond prepared to fly passengers to their destinations, and to help more senior pilots mentor those with less experience.”

Babbitt told airline companies today he expects them to do complete background checks on pilots before hiring them to fly passengers -- including getting permission from pilots to access all of their training records.

And the news continues. This weekend I noticed an article in Bloomberg.com about a new satellite system that will provide more detailed weather information for pilots. According to the story, this system has been under development for four years by the FAA and other counterparts around the globe – the satellite-based upgrade will provide real time climate images and data to the cockpit so the pilots can see a storm miles before they reach it.

In the U.S., the proposed technology is called NextGen, for Next Generation Air Transportation System, and is estimated to cost the government as much as $22 billion to develop, according to the FAA. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast link, being built by a team led by ITT Corp., is slated to be operational by 2013, according to the FAA Web site. ITT, based in White Plains, New York, is a manufacturer of engineering products and communications systems.

An upgrade to aircraft technology is a hot topic, but so are the pilots that fly the friendly skies. Take the unfortunate mid-flight death of 60-year old pilot Craig Lenell. The Continental Airlines Flight 61 was traveling from Brussels to Newark, NJ when Mr. Lenell suffered a heart attack - the co-pilots took control of the flight with no awareness from the passengers.

This could now lead to questions regarding the qualification of older pilots flying commercial aircraft, but let’s not forget pilot Chesley B. Sullenburger III, 57, who landed the plane in the Hudson River saving the lives of all passengers. Regardless, should there be a limit on the age for pilots flying commercial aircraft? According to the pilot’s wife, Mr. Lenell was in perfect health and had no prior history of heart conditions and never missed his twice-a-year physicals.

Millions of people put their trust in the airlines they choose everyday. Accidents happen. Mistakes are made. But public perception is the key and unfortunately there is no price that will bring back a loved one killed in an air disaster. When the cause is a manufacturing defect, a known danger, a situation that is avoidable, that is when people start to get mad. Too early to feel certain that this is what happened on Air France Flight 447, but I’ve been doing aviation work for 45 years, and folks, the writing is on the wall already.

Finally, the latest in airline crash news: Air France is offering a first advance on compensation for families that lost loved ones – 17,500 euro. For those who don’t have a calculator for a brain, like me, that equals just under $24,000 USD. I wonder if they ask for a release with that. What is your guess?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Robert Parks

Computers Don’t Make Better Decisions Than Humans: New Discoveries From Air France Wreckage As Body Parts Are Found

Gabrielle D'Alemberte — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:58:04 GMT

It has been approximately two weeks since Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, and there are still more questions then answers as the search continues for the one device that could illuminate the truth of what happened that fateful night: the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder.

According to The Christian Science Monitor, which gives a detailed update of Flight 447 and Airbus, the examination of the 49 bodies found indicate that the plane broke into pieces, probably splitting in the middle, while airborne.

Body parts are now being found and examined. They tell their own story. According to the an Associate Press Report posted two hours ago, "autopsies revealed fractures in the legs, hips and arms of Air France disaster victims. Experts said those injuries — and the large pieces of wreckage pulled from the Atlantic — strongly suggest the plane broke up in the air."

Many are still critical of the aircraft itself. It has been reported that Air France has replaced the airspeed censors – known as Pilot tubes – on its entire fleet of Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft; the A330 is considered the most automated plane in the air today. Because the airspeed censors may have been iced over due to the weather, causing erratic airspeed readings to the plane’s computers, this has drawn quite a bit of attention. Whether or not this caused the crash is still unconfirmed. Probably the greatest controversy among experts is the idea that this plane, a relatively “newer” model among carriers, is more electronically dependent than a plane ought to be. This particular model actually blocks the pilots out if electrical switch is down or hit, essentially taking over. There is no recourse for pilots onboard – in essence no manual override. The scare is computers don’t have the judgment of humans, obviously, but in a situation such as this, having the cognizant ability to make decisions based on instinct, rather than a model that is comprised of statistical data is beneficial.

According to Airbus’ CEO Tom Enders, who was defending the aircraft earlier this week: "The AIRBUS record is very, very impressive," he said. "(They have) more than 16 million flight hours, more than 3 million flights and this is so far one of the safest commercial aircraft built. We are supporting the investigation as much as we can and we very much hope that the recorders will be found soon, so that we find out what really happened," Enders said.

Despite the theories and new evidence of body parts found, until the Brazilian military ships, the French submarine, and the two Dutch ships locate that desolate ping beacon miles under the ocean, the fate of Airbus Flight 447 may remain a mystery.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gabrielle D'Alemberte

Air France Jet Missing over the Atlantic- 220 expected to be found dead

Gabrielle D'Alemberte — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:48:28 GMT

As of 10 A.M. this morning, the Air France jet carrying 228 people, had gone missing over the Atlantic. Reports of electric failure were the biggest concern, and some opined that the jet was struck by lightning. If this plane went down, it will be one if the worst airline disasters in history. Sadly, the Air France plane is thought to have crashed already.

Yahoo News reports: French Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo confirmed the plane had probably had some kind of accident as a hijacking had been ruled out.

"There's nothing on Spanish radar, nothing on Moroccan radar, nothing on French radar. We can seriously envisage the worst," Borloo said.

The minister told AFP there were "powerful" tropical storms in the zone. "It is the kind of jet made to handle this kind of circumstance but there must have been a build up of circumstances."

The flight had left Rio de Janeiro at 7 P.M. and was headed to Paris, the report of an error message coming in approximately four hours into the flight. Nothing has been heard since. The threat of lightning and weather is not one that air travelers are used to worrying about. Very few plane crashes are related to such conditions. This would certainly be the first of this magnitude.

Citing MSNBC, Bill Voss, president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation in Alexandria, Va. said "lightning issues have been considered since the beginning of aviation. They were far more prevalent when aircraft operated at low altitudes. They are less common now since it's easier to avoid thunderstorms."

More often, plane crashes are due to pilot error or negligent maintenance of equipment. In this case, neither have been suggested to have occurred. Still, as always, an extensive investigation will be conducted once the plane is found and the black box recovered.

In the meantime, all assurances have been that this is not a hostage situation. As I watch the news this morning, that was my first fear and I imagine I am not alone in that reaction after September 11.

The world is watching now, and hopefully news of the plane’s whereabouts will be reported soon.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gabrielle D'Alemberte