Debate on black box – Hailstorm AUA: public prosecutor prevented?

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

In addition, the documentation results of the investigation and the photographic material taken were requested from the responsible federal investigative body, the Federal Security Investigation Agency (SUB). However, the responsible council member reacted negatively and called the classification as a “disturbance”, according to which they were not obliged to hand it over. Only if the incident is classified as an “accident” do you have to provide the relevant documents to the judiciary.

“The public interest prevails”
The Public Prosecutor’s Office was not deterred by this, however, and pressed for administrative assistance and the explosive nature of the case. In an email exchange available at krone.at it says: “After reviewing the legal information you have kindly provided, I find that the Public Prosecutor’s Office appears to be fundamentally competent to request the data you possess, provided that this is in the public interest. weighs more heavily.”

This is also how Viennese lawyer Wolfgang List, who represents the plaintiff in this case, sees it: “It cannot be that the relevant investigative steps are controlled by the SUB or that it even decides which evidence is disclosed to the court and that is not the case,” he tells krone.at.

Ministry rejects allegations
The responsible climate ministry, to which the SUB reports, said in a statement that the legal framework was being complied with: “The relevant incident will be comprehensively investigated by the independent safety investigation body. At the same time, judicial investigations are underway.”

However, an agreement has already been made to ensure the exchange of relevant data. “Of course, the SUB and the judiciary are working together as best they can. We are united by our interest in a rapid and comprehensive investigation into the incident. All investigation results are shared on the basis of legal requirements and can be included in the two procedures accordingly.”

This has particular implications for the evaluation of the flight data recorder and the evaluation is already underway here; “We strongly reject allegations that the SUB is delaying the judicial investigation – this is in any case not correct,” it continues.

Ministry of Justice: “No indications”
The Ministry of Justice is currently responding very cautiously to the case: “We currently have no indications that the Public Prosecution Service is being obstructed.” For more information, please contact the StA Korneuburg, which is handling the case.

What happened in the cockpit?
The evaluation of the voice recorder is particularly explosive, as it is still not 100 percent clear what happened on board – and especially in the cockpit – when the plane was hit by the devastating hail storm.

In any case, the Public Prosecution Service has commissioned its own expert to determine whether the pilots may have ignored a weather warning or whether they made another wrong decision – for this, the relevant data is also required.

AUA suffered a huge loss
For the AUA, the whole affair comes at the worst possible time anyway. The airline has had a mixed first half of 2024, with operating profit going from plus 15 to minus 65 million euros on an annual basis – and that with a growing number of passengers. If the incident of June 9 were to be classified as an accident, it could lead to insurance premiums rising, say aviation experts.

The stricken aircraft is now circling again – albeit with permanent hail damage, as this will not be repaired until the next maintenance in November. Everything according to requirements, the AUA emphasizes. The repairs have so far cost a “low seven figures”.