Air France crash avoidable: report

THE 2009 Air France disaster, in which 228 people died when a plane flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris plunged into the Atlantic Ocean could have been avoided, a report claims.

The expert report, which was ordered by investigators, found that “an inappropriate response after the momentary loss of speed indications” following a malfunction in the aircraft’s speed sensors was a key factor in the disaster.

The five experts said the “predominance of human factors in causing the accident and acting as contributory factors had been clearly established”.

The crash “could have been avoided if the crew had taken appropriate action,” they said.

A 2012 report by France’s BEA authority, which is responsible for investigations into accidents or incidents in civil aviation, blamed a mix of technical faults and human error.

The experts also said that the pilots of flight AF 447 had not been adequately trained to handle unusual situations, such as instrument malfunctions, during flights.

They listed 14 factors that contributed to the crash, including stress and fatigue, a lack of understanding of the situation, and what they said was “the questionable attitude of the captain in leaving the cockpit, despite questions from his copilot”.

A lawyer representing the families of victims, however, have insisted the latest report is “full of contradictions”, and said that the experts who prepared the report were too ready to blame the pilots while “avoiding the issue of a technical failure”.