Investigations against the head of the SUB: suspicion of corruption after AUA hail!

Investigations against the head of the SUB: suspicion of corruption after AUA hail!

Almost ten months after the hailstorm that severely damaged an Austrian Airlines (AUA) plane, the Vienna public prosecutor's office is expanding its legal investigation. How oe24 reported, the head and six other people of the Federal Security Investigation Board (SUB) are suspected of abuse of office, favoritism and suppression of evidence. However, suspicion does not apply equally to all suspects.

The incident occurred on June 9, 2024, when the Airbus A320 ran into a thunderstorm cell on a return flight from Palma de Mallorca to Vienna. The crew was forced to make an emergency “Mayday” call, but the crew managed to land the plane safely at Vienna-Schwechat Airport. Fortunately, there were no injuries among the passengers, but the aircraft suffered severe damage.

Investigations and allegations

In recent weeks, cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders were seized from the Ministry of Transport after the SUB refused to hand them over voluntarily. Lawyer Wolfgang List, who submitted a statement of facts to the public prosecutor's office, once again expressed suspicion of corruption and other crimes. As a result, the Vienna prosecution examined the initial suspicion and initiated an investigation.

In the SUB's previous interim report, the incident is classified as an "incident" and not an "accident". In this regard, lawyer List sharply criticized the SUB because it prevented the recordings from the voice recorder and the data storage from being published. In addition, the head of the SUB handed over the relevant procedures, as did the other suspects.

International reports and studies

International private reports have classified the incident as a “serious incident”, while the Vienna Higher Regional Court must decide whether the seizure of the recordings was legal. At the same time, the Korneuburg public prosecutor's office is pursuing the accusation of negligent public endangerment. Given the scope of the surveys, an end to the investigation is not yet in sight.

In such cases, the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) is ordered in accordance with Regulation No. 996/2010 and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Act. The BFU is responsible for investigating accidents and serious incidents involving civilly registered aircraft in Germany. The BFU's investigations are independent of judicial or administrative procedures and are ultimately aimed at accident prevention. However, the reports produced as part of these investigations do not contain findings of guilt or liability, but rather focus on safety-related findings. Further information can be found on the website BFU.

Overall, it remains to be seen how the proceedings will develop and what consequences the current investigations could have for the people involved and the aviation industry as a whole.