The black box is secret, and so is the investigation report of the air crash. There have been dozens of air crashes in the history of civil aviation in New China, and almost no reasons have been announced.
This has been questioned by many people, including lawsuits. On June 5438+065438+1October 2 1 day, 2007, five family members of Baotou air crash victims prepared to sue the former Civil Aviation Administration of China (hereinafter referred to as CAAC), arguing that their delay in publishing the air crash investigation report violated the Regulations on the Openness of Government Information, which will be implemented in May 2008. The air crash occurred on June 5438+065438+1October 2 1 in 2004, and all 55 people on board were killed.
In fact, at the end of 2006, the State Administration of Work Safety and the Ministry of Supervision informed the investigation and handling results of the Baotou air crash of China Eastern Airlines Yunnan Company. But this short "propaganda" is only 200 words in the newspaper. Bruce Lee, an air crash litigation lawyer in Baotou, said: This result is too simple to be used as evidence to sue China Eastern Airlines and hold it accountable.
In the handling of Baotou air crash, the compensation standard cited by China Eastern Airlines is the Interim Provisions on Personal Injury Compensation for Domestic Air Transport Passengers revised by the State Council 1993-each passenger can get a maximum compensation of 70,000 yuan. In this regard, Hao Junbo believes that if the airline is not at fault in the air crash, it is eligible to consider compensation according to this standard; If there is a fault, according to the law, the airline has no right to quote the maximum compensation amount. Generally speaking, the maximum compensation is 70,000 or 400,000 (the latter refers to the new compensation standard in 2006-editor's note), but more compensation should be paid.
This is reflected in the Civil Aviation Law of China, which was implemented in March 1996. The intention expressed in article 132 of the law is that if the responsibility of airline personnel in the accident is serious enough to be suspected of intentional violation, then the airline cannot compensate according to the general standards. Zhang Qihuai, director of the Aviation Law Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association, said that this compensation should refer to the international practice, that is, the Montreal Convention adopted by the National People's Congress in 2005, and the family of the deceased may get 6,543,800 yuan.
If the responsibility is confirmed, the aviation personnel involved may also bear criminal responsibility. Article 13 1 of the Criminal Law stipulates that an airman who gives command in violation of regulations and causes a major flight accident and serious consequences shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention; Whoever causes a plane crash or death shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years.
The problem now is that the General Administration has basically not made public the accident investigation report. Therefore, in the past air crashes, even if the families of the victims were not satisfied with the compensation, there was no evidence to cite, let alone hold the airlines accountable. "If we can get the evidence, we will definitely sue in China." Bruce Lee, an attorney for the Baotou air crash, said. As a result, the lawsuit hit the United States, and the family of the deceased sued the American General Electric Company, which produced the engine of the crashed plane.
It is not the Baotou air crash that determines the amount of compensation for the air crash because it can get the investigation report. The reporter of China Newsweek learned that the families of the victims of the Wuhan air crash in 2000 also faced similar experiences.
"According to article 13 of international civil aviation, the recording in the black box cannot be released, and the investigation report and accident conclusion should be released. However, there are still some inaccurate factors in our country's official grasp of the record scale, so this provision is used to limit the publication of the accident investigation conclusion. This is a deprivation of the public's right to know. " Zhang Qihuai, an expert in aviation law, said, "This is related to the national policy of supporting the development of the civil aviation industry. In addition, the Civil Aviation Administration is an administrative organ, which is inextricably linked with civil aviation companies, including the coordination and use of leaders. After the accident, the General Administration conducted an investigation on civil aviation companies, and the conclusions of the investigation may be affected. "
An official of China Southern Airlines told the reporter of China Newsweek privately that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the investigation report on civil aviation accidents has never been made public, and if it is made public suddenly, it may bring social panic. At present, the passenger load factor of airlines is very low.
Today, with the gradual opening of information, this "secret" is more and more abrupt. In April 2003, the Ministry of Health held the first press conference on the SARS epidemic, announcing the number of people infected with SARS and the number of deaths, and the China Municipal Government initially established a press release system for public health emergencies; In September 2005, the State Secrecy Bureau and the Ministry of Civil Affairs jointly held a press conference in Beijing, announcing the declassification of the total number of natural disaster deaths and related information in China, and the causes of natural and man-made disasters such as mine disasters gradually became transparent.
In this context, the former Civil Aviation Administration of China is also promoting the measures of accident investigation information disclosure.
On March 7, 2005, the General Administration of Civil Aviation promulgated the Provisions on the Administration of Civil Aviation Safety Information. It stipulates that the release of civil aviation safety information is divided into regular information release and emergency information release. Regularly released information includes statistical data and trend analysis of various accidents and other unsafe events; Emergency refers to specific flight accidents, aviation ground accidents, flight accident symptoms and other unsafe events, including the basic situation of accidents or incidents, casualties, incident handling and measures taken.
The Beijing News reported that on the day of promulgation, the relevant person in charge of the General Administration said in an interview that the investigation report of Baotou air crash accident would be announced to the public.
Gui, a family member of the deceased in Baotou air crash, told the reporter of China Newsweek: "The victims should have an explanation. This is the minimum respect for life. "