“Pilots in handcuffs is what we’re talking about,” said lawyer Kenneth Quinn at the Flight Safety Foundation European Aviation Safety Seminar held recently in Bucharest, Romania. Quinn moderated a two-hour discussion of criminalization and aviation safety, an apropos discussion as the industry becomes ever more vulnerable to attack in an increasingly litigious society. To illustrate how this affects real-world operators, a seven-strong panel of experts considered a hypothetical accident, with Quinn responding to a series of “breaking news” media reports (summarized in italics).
Initial “breaking news”: A French-built Flybus F-100 jetliner operated by U.S. carrier MidAir has come down in the Greek Saronic Islands. There are British, Cypriot, French, Greek and U.S. citizens aboard; the flight crew is British. The NTSB will be an interested party in ensuring the competence of the accident investigation.