Air France en de interne problemen

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

En o.a. daarom gaan de Fransen begin volgend jaar verder zoeken naar de
black boxen in de Atlantische Oceaan.

Groet / Cees

http://www.aviationweek.com/

Air France Shaken By Internal
Safety-Related Crisis
Posted by Pierre Sparaco at
11/13/2009 6:41 PM CST
A deep crisis related to aviation safety is souring relations between
Air France’s 4,100 pilots and their managers. Mistrust and suspicions
are rampant. And if the discord is not defused quickly, it could
seriously disrupt the airline’s business strategy, which is already
being pummeled by a negative economic environment.


This unprecedented situation can be viewed as collateral damage from the
Air France Flight 447 accident. Not surprisingly, the dispute is
escalating, since flight crews and the carrier’s chain of command have
long maintained adversarial relations. Further fanning the flames are
the difficulties in establishing probable causes for AF447’s June 1
plunge into the Atlantic Ocean during a flight between Rio de Janeiro
and Paris.


The French air accident investigation bureau (BEA) still expects to
gather enough information to avoid publishing an inconclusive final
report. Meanwhile, speculation is growing.


No fewer than four French cockpit-crew unions are involved in the
imbroglio, a harmful fragmentation. In fact, the unions are competing
for new members while following divergent strategies and incompatible
objectives. Instead, they should be speaking with a single voice or,
even better, implementing a long-overdue merger.


Nevertheless, all four unions have agreed to reject Air France
management’s public posture, which they say is adding to the confusion.
Union leaders also assert that managers are trying to cover up
weaknesses in pilot training procedures.


At this stage, no one can claim to be bringing the situation under
control. This indicates that some procedures involving cruise flight are
thought to be flawed or not being applied correctly, with the
implication that the AF447 crash could have been the result of
inappropriate actions in the cockpit. The pilots consider such an
assumption unacceptable.


Clearly, the airline’s leaders have not found the right words to
establish a good rapport with the flight crews. On their side, the
unions have not submitted workable proposals to promote a more positive
mood. In a carefully worded internal letter, Air France operations
management last month tried to restore confidence but missed this goal.


Although using conciliatory terms in preparation for discussions once
the storm abates, management warned pilots to be more vigilant,
disregarded the need for new procedures and instead asserted that it
would be sufficient just to adhere to existing rules. This could be
interpreted to mean that Air France attributed “safety lapses” to
overconfidence. With no specific reference to AF447, management
indicated that flight operations are suffering from decreased
vigilance.


“Intolerable,” retorted Capt. Erick Derivry, spokesman for France ALPA.
(Formerly known as SNPL, the French branch of the Air Line Pilots Assn.
is Air France’s leading union.) Other pilots believe that trust has
simply evaporated and a management-pilot divorce is underway—not a
no-fault divorce but a true breakup.


An 11th-hour initiative, however, is expected to reduce tensions. Air
France Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon and pilot union leaders
finally came to an agreement to quickly form a dedicated safety team of
5-7 veteran pilots. They will report directly to Gourgeon. In addition,
Capt. Gilbert Rovetto, senior vice president for operations, is now
scheduled to retire next month, “as planned earlier”—an obvious trompe
l’oeil to suppress an additional source of strain.


Adopting for the first time a diplomatic tone regarding the AF447
mishap, Gourgeon said: “Nothing indicates that the cockpit crew was at
fault. At least, this is my personal belief.” He added that the plan is
to review flight safety top-to-bottom.


Whether Gourgeon’s initiative can restore confidence is unclear. BEA and
Airbus are also being criticized by some pilots and their friends, who
allege that the truth is being withheld in “secret efforts” to protect
A330-200 sales. Such accusations are not new and appear frequently after
Airbus crashes.


In addition, Henri Marnet-Cornus, a retired pilot, and Francois Nenin, a
writer who says he is a flight safety expert, recently completed a
“counter-inquiry” on AF447—an effort apparently aimed at undermining the
credibility of the investigation team.


The result is a painful, endless mess. Will common sense finally return?

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