Next-of-Kin: Stakeholders in a Safety Investigation...Next-of-Kin: Stakeholders in a Safety...
Transcript of Next-of-Kin: Stakeholders in a Safety Investigation...Next-of-Kin: Stakeholders in a Safety...
Next-of-Kin: Stakeholders in a Safety Investigation ?
Chengdu - 18 April 2012
Alain GUILLDOU
Head of Information and International Affairs
Organization of a Safety Investigation
State of
Occurrence
State of
Design
Designer
State of
Registry
Owner
State of the
Operator
Operator State of
Manufacture
Manufacturer
State(s) of
the Victims
Authorities
Victims
Are Victims all “Equal”?
Starvation Tsunami
Kidnapping Terrorism
Per year:
France: around 4,500 fatalities
Brazil: around 45,000 fatalities
Are Victims all “Equal”?
Air Disasters Victims
Source: Flightglobal ACAS
Per year:
France: around 4,500 fatalities
Brazil: around 45,000 fatalities
Who will admit the comparison?
AF 447:
France: 61 fatalities
Brazil: 58 fatalities
“…is considered to be an occupant of the aircraft,
or any person outside the aircraft
who is directly involved in the aircraft accident”
“…is a Victim who is not fatally injured in the accident”
Air Disasters Victims… Who are They?
A Victim…
A Survivor…
Annex 13
Common
Citizens?
VIPs?
Foreigners?
Are Air Disasters Victims all “Equal”?
Dual
Nationals?
More and more States allow dual citizenship and there are calls
for:
flexible citizenship or
transnationalism
There is no airlines requirement related to the nationality of
their passengers = Difficulties to alert their respective consulates
Dual Citizenship Issues
Who survived?
all on board:
o Lajes, Azores (Portugal) - Airbus A330 - 24 August 2001 - 306 lives were saved
o Toronto (Canada) - Airbus A340 - 2 August 2005 - 309 lives were saved
o London (UK) B-777 – 17 January 2008 - 152 lives were saved
o Hudson River (USA) - Airbus A320 - 15 January 2009 - 155 lives were saved
Issues about Survivors
Are Air Disasters Victims all “Equal”?
Third Parties? Crew Members?
Flight crew? Cabin crew?
Citizens
of a State that has signed the
Montreal Convention?
Survivors?
Who? Why?
Who survived?
only one or two? - crew members / passengers?
Tamanrasset accident (Algeria) - Boeing 737 - 6 March 2003: One survivor
Cotonou accident (Benin) - Boeing 727 - 25 December 2003: The Captain and 21
other persons survived
Comoros accident - A320 - 30 June 2009: One survivor, fifteen years old
Tripoli (Libya) - A310 - October 2010: One survivor, nine years old
Issues about Survivors
If the Captain survives with all his passengers, he is a savior
If he survives with only a few persons, he may be found “liable”
If he dies, he is among the victims
Why did they survive?
they missed their flight
they had the “right” seat
they were saved by the search and rescue teams
WHY WERE THEY THE ONLY ONES TO BE SAVED?
Issues about Survivors
Next-of-Kin
Nuclear / Immediate Family
and
Stepparents
Monoparental
or
Reconstructed Families
Who are They?
“FAMILY”
group of people affiliated by:
consanguinity
affinity or
co-residence
Airline
Who Informs Them?
Airlines: Information on Persons on Board
EU Regulation No 996/2010
Article 20
“Union airlines… “ shall implement procedures which allow for the production:
as soon as possible, and at the latest within two hours
of the notification of the occurrence of an accident to the aircraft,
of a validated list, based on the best available information,
of all the persons on board…”
Airlines: Information on Persons on Board
Established after the information
provided by the Brazilian
authorities
Condolences
Medical and psychological support
in Paris and Rio de Janeiro
Nationalities
Officials
Who Informs Them?
Condolences and National Mourning
Russia: Medvedev
France: Sarkozy
In a time of huge floods
with millions of people on the roads
Media
Who Informs Them?
What really happened in the cockpit
Various
sources
Rights
Death certificates
Compensations
Self-called experts
Lawyers
Who Informs Them?
Safety
Investigation
Body
Who Informs Them?
Three different situations:
1. The State that has nationals among the victims
conducts the investigation
2. The State that has nationals among the victims
participates in the investigation
3. The State that has nationals among the victims
does not participate in the investigation
Safety Investigation Authorities Communication
EU Regulation No 996/2010
Article 15
“5. Before making public the information…, the safety
investigation authority in charge shall forward that information to
the victims and their relatives or their associations in a way which
does not compromise the objectives of the safety investigation.”
Safety Investigation Authorities Communication
The reactions will depend on:
the ties they had with the victim:
o child (“inhuman” and illogical)
o wife / husband, mother / father…
o close friend…
the quality of the relations they had:
o officially close
o distant in reality
their safety culture
o high protection ≠ fatality
Families’ reactions - Generalities
Recurrent Questions
Did they realize
they were going to die?
Did they suffer?
Official reporting
1.15 Survival aspects
The accident was not
survivable
Example of “answers” to these questions
They claim for the Return of the Bodies
They erect memorials
At the site crash
In a cemetery
Associations - contacts with a Federation
“Conduct” a parallel investigation
Dedicated websites
Have their own “experts”
Collect witnesses’ declarations or letters
Particular demands (CVR, seats, runway length)
Issue their own reports
Meet high level people
Most Often…
Possible rivalries between various associations
Personality of their leaders
Differing objectives (compensations – helping others…)
Some stick to conspiracy theories
Supported by an army of lawyers from different countries
Meeting Next-of-Kin
Classified
Why did they only
recover 10% of the
aircraft?
The causes of the accident
Blame and liability
Words by Families
I need a name
to hate
Sharm el Sheik accident
(Egypt)
3 January 2004
135 French citizens died
Two Different Investigations
Blame
Liability
Causes
Prevention
Yesterday Tomorrow
The agenda of the investigations is usually different
Common Evidence
………………………
Different Objectives
ICAO Circular 285/NA 166
2001: ICAO Circular 285-NA/166
Organizing
Search and Rescue
Informing
persons involved
Taking Charge of
the persons concerned
Damages
and Compensations
Information to Families
Related to a Safety Investigation
Japan France Singapore
Conference on “Family Assistance: promoting an International
Approach for the Transportation Industry” to commemorate:
15th anniversary of the US Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act
10th anniversary of the ICAO Circular 285
Washington, March 2011
Updating the ICAO Circular 285-NA/166 Guidance on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and Their Families
France USA
To be done
To encourage all Governments
to ratify and / or implement
the Montreal Convention
To be prepared as an airline
or a safety investigation body
to assist
and inform next-of-kin
F A T E
S Y
?
谢 谢