The audio recording of the black boxes of the Rio-Paris flight that crashed into the sea in 2009, killing all 228 people on board, was made public this Monday (17) during a lawsuit by manufacturer Airbus and airline Air. France, the Parisian courtroom is an extremely powerful moment for the family and friends of the victims.

It was the deadliest crash in the history of Air France) — Photo: fab

“We hear voices from the grave,” said Alain Jakubowicz, one of the lawyers of the association Entraide et Solidarité AF447 (Cooperation and Solidarity AF447). “It was a terrible moment, because we heard the pilots, who at different moments said: “We tried everything.” They didn’t understand what was about to happen.”

The final four minutes of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), which records pilots’ voices and cockpit noise, was released without the presence of the public or press.

Only magistrates, court clerks and lawyers, civilians and employees of the accused were allowed into the courtroom of the Paris Correctional Court. Everyone had to turn off their phones and put them in a plastic bag to avoid revealing the recording to outsiders.

This broadcast was requested by civilian parties, who said listening to the voices of the pilots was “absolutely necessary” to “search for the truth.”

Alain Yakubovich said that next to the cabin, where the passengers were, it means that “we all had in mind a terrifying scenario, in the style of Hollywood films,” but “it didn’t happen that way.”

“It was very important for the families of the victims. Many people were sleeping, they were awakened by death,” he added.

At the front of the room, the civilian units were stunned and agitated. “I was afraid of this moment, and it was even stronger than I could have imagined,” said Corinne Soulas, whose daughter died in the accident. “The pilots were confused, they did not know what awaited them, they were in complete misunderstanding.”

Ophelie Tulliou, who lost her brother, said she heard from three pilots “who were faced with a situation that they did not understand and who completely overcame them, people who showed extraordinary composure and who, as we heard, fought to the end.”

“Stun”

“Listening to the audio recording of the flight was an extremely powerful moment for everyone present,” an Airbus spokesman said. “We join in the suffering of the loved ones of the pilots and victims as they listen to this recording.”

Fragment of Air France Rio-Paris A330 — Photo: Aeronáutica/Disclosure/ND

That night, at high altitude, the A330 pilots were surprised by the freezing of the pitot sensors used to measure the aircraft’s speed, causing the autopilot to suddenly shut off. They failed to stabilize the aircraft.

On Monday morning, the court viewed two Airbus videos, one of which described the maneuvers the pilots had to perform to control the situation. The videos were deemed worthy of an “ideal world” rather than “reality” by civilian parties.

In the afternoon, the manufacturer’s defense, denying any criminal liability, interrogated the specialists of the first briefing board about piloting rules, the attitude of the crew to weather conditions, that the co-pilot, “the least experienced”, was responsible. did the brigade identify the breakdown?” Simon Ndiaye asked.

The pilots were trained in the procedure in case the speeds did not match each other”; but this time there was no data on “speed at all,” the expert explained.

“There was some bewilderment as the elements they had didn’t match the mental image” of what they learned, he described.

Airbus’ second board questioned whether surprise resilience was part of the recruitment criteria for pilots.

“Among the military, yes, but among civilians, no,” the expert replied. For the latter, “the main criterion is compliance with procedures.”