Air NZ bristles at French accident report
AUCKLAND – Air New Zealand has bristled at the interim report by French investigators into a plane crash last November which killed all seven aboard, including five New Zealanders.
The Airbus A320 crashed into the Mediterranean off Perpignan, France, during a test flight.
France’s Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses (BEA) interim report pointed at the aircrew who it said were performing low speed tests at too low an altitude.
Air NZ CEO Ron Fyfe has revealed their own experts have not been allowed to listen to the cockpit flight recorders held by the French investigators.
He said he was frustrated and angry at the report and said protocols had been violated in releasing it to the public before the families of the dead or the airline had the chance to read it.
The A320 had been under lease to Germany’s XL Airlines and had been repainted into Air New Zealand colours prior to handing back. Two German pilots were flying it while an Air New Zealand pilot, was performing flight deck checks.
Fyfe said the report only partially outlines certain aspects of what occurred during the flight and not why the accident occurred.
Ian Jarrett
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