Debate about black box

AUA hail flight: Prosecutor prevented from working?

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zVg)

The disastrous hail flight of the AUA plane from Palma de Mallorca to Vienna on June 9 continues to cause a stir. Now there are accusations that the judiciary is being hindered in its work. 

On July 10, the responsible public prosecutor issued an order to seize the flight data recorder, the voice recorder at Austrian Airlines and various radar and flight data from Austro Control.

In addition, a request was made to the responsible federal investigative body, the Federal Safety Investigation Board (SUB), for the documentation results of the investigation and the photographic material produced. However, the responsible court advisor reacted dismissively, referring to the classification as an "incident", according to which there was no obligation to hand over the information. Only if the incident was classified as an "accident" would the relevant documents have to be made available to the judiciary. 

The public prosecutor's office ordered the seizure on July 10.

(Bild: zVg)

"Public interest prevails"
However, the public prosecutor refused to be dissuaded and insisted on administrative assistance and the explosive nature of the case. In an email correspondence available to krone.at, it says: "After reviewing the legal information you kindly provided, I note that the public prosecutor's office appears to be authorized in principle to request the data you have on file, provided that the public interest prevails."

In an email to the SUB, the public prosecutor argues, among other things, that the flight data recorder and the voice recorder should be seized.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zVg)

Viennese lawyer Wolfgang List, who is representing the plaintiff in this case, agrees: "It is unacceptable that the relevant investigative steps are directed by the SUB or that the SUB even decides which evidence is disclosed to the court and which is not," he told krone.at.

Ministry rejects accusations
The responsible climate ministry, to which the SUB is subordinate, said in a statement that the legal framework was being adhered to: "The relevant incident is being comprehensively investigated by the independent safety investigation office. At the same time, investigations by the judiciary are ongoing."

(Bild: Leserreporter/zVg)

(Bild: Leserreporter/zVg)

(Bild: zVg)

However, an appointment has already been made to ensure the exchange of the relevant data "Of course, the SUB and the judiciary are working together as best they can. We are united by our interest in the swift and comprehensive clarification of the incident. All investigation results will be shared on the basis of the legal requirements and can be incorporated into the two proceedings accordingly."

This applies in particular to the evaluation of the flight data recorder and the voice recorder, where the evaluation is already underway. "We reject in the strongest possible terms accusations that the SUB is delaying the investigations of the judiciary - this is certainly not correct," the statement continues. 

Ministry of Justice: "No indications"
The Ministry of Justice is currently still reacting very cautiously to the case: "We currently have no indications that the public prosecutor's office is being obstructed." For further information, please refer to the Korneuburg Public Prosecutor's Office, which is handling the case. 

What happened in the cockpit?
The evaluation of the voice recorder in particular is particularly explosive, as it is still not one hundred percent clear what happened on board - specifically in the cockpit - when the plane flew into the devastating hailstorm. 

In any case, the public prosecutor's office has commissioned its own expert to determine whether the pilots ignored a weather warning or whether another wrong decision was made - the relevant data is also needed for this. 

AUA made a big loss
The whole affair has come at the worst possible time for AUA. The airline had a mixed first half of 2024, with the operating result turning from plus EUR 15 million to minus EUR 65 million year-on-year - and that with a rising number of passengers. If the incident on June 9 were to be classified as an accident, this could result in an increase in insurance premiums, according to aviation experts. 

In the meantime, the aircraft concerned is already circling in the air again - albeit with permanent hail damage, as this will not be repaired until the next maintenance in November. All in accordance with the requirements, as AUA emphasizes. The repair has so far cost a "low seven-figure sum".