The cabin sound reveals the pilots’ desperation before the tragedy of the Rio-Paris flight: We tried it all – News

The Audio recording of the black boxes of the Rio-Paris flight that fell into the sea in 2009, killing all 228 people on board, was revealed on Monday (17) during a lawsuit by the manufacturer, Airbus, and Air France, in a Paris court – a A very powerful moment. To the family and friends of the victims.

“We hear voices from beyond the grave,” declared Alain Jakubowicz, one of the lawyers for Entraide et Solidarité AF447 (AF447 Cooperation and Solidarity). “It was a terrifying moment, because we heard the pilots who entered [dizem]We have tried everything. They didn’t understand what was about to happen.”

The last four minutes of CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder), which preserves the pilots’ voice and cockpit noise, was launched without the public or the press present.

Only judges, court secretaries, lawyers, civil parties, and employees of the accused were allowed to enter the Paris Correctional Court.

Everyone had to lock their phones and put them in a plastic bag, to avoid any external disclosure of the recording.

This broadcast was at the request of the civil authorities, as hearing the voice of the pilots was “absolutely indispensable” for the “search for the truth”.

Alan Jakubowicz reported that “we all had a horrific, Hollywood-style scenario in mind” next to the cabin where the passengers were, but “that’s not what happened.”

“For the families of the victims, it was very important. Many people were asleep, and they were awakened by death,” he added.

In front of the room, the civilian parts were dumbfounded and emotional.

Corinne Solas, whose daughter died in the accident, replied: “I dread this moment and it was stronger than I could have imagined.” “The pilots got lost, didn’t know what to expect, and were completely incomprehensible.”

Ofili Tullio, who lost her brother, said she heard from three pilots who “faced a situation they did not understand and were completely overpowered, people who showed extraordinary coolness and we heard them fight to the end.”

“lightning strike”

“Hearing the sound of flight was a very powerful moment for everyone present,” said an Airbus spokesperson. “We share in the suffering of those close to the pilots and victims, relieving themselves by listening to this recording.”

That night, at high altitude, the pilots of the A330 were surprised to find that the Pitot sensors, which are used to measure the speed of the aircraft, had frozen, causing the autopilot to stop abruptly. They could not install the plane.

Last Monday morning, the court watched two Airbus videos. One described the maneuvers the pilots had to perform to control the situation. Civil parties considered the videos to deserve an “ideal world” rather than a “reality”.

In the afternoon, the manufacturer’s defense, refuting any criminal punishment, interrogated a specialist of the first group, who was responsible for instructions regarding the rules of driving, the attitude of the crew in the face of the weather, and the fact that the co-pilot, “the least experienced”, to take charge .. .

Simon Ndiaye asked: “For you, do you know the crew on the breakdown?”.

The pilots were trained to perform an action in the event that the speeds were inconsistent with each other; This time, the expert explained, there was no “speed at all” training.

“There was a bit of a bewilderment, that the items they had did not match the mental picture” of what they had learned, he said.

Airbus’ second board questioned whether resistance to sudden impact was part of the criteria for hiring pilots.

The expert answered: “Yes, among the military, but among civilian pilots, no.” For the latter, “the primary criterion is respect for procedures.”