Investigations against AUA examination manager: suspected abuse of office!

Investigations against AUA examination manager: suspected abuse of office!

Almost ten months after the hailstan weather, which a machine of the Austrian Airlines (AUA) damaged, there is an expanded legal investigation. The Vienna public prosecutor's office has started to investigate the head of the federal government and six other persons from the federal government. This happens against the background of the suspicion of abuse of office, favoring and the suppression of evidence, whereby the concrete allegations are not directed against all suspects, such as oe24.at reported.

The incident occurred on June 9, 2024, when an Airbus A320 got into a thunderstorm cell on the return flight of Palma de Mallorca. An emergency call with the “Mayday” signal was discontinued, but the machine landed safely at Vienna-Schwechat Airport, luckily without injuries among the passengers. However, the AUA machine suffered severe damage, which made an in-depth investigation necessary.

Investigations and consolidations

Three weeks ago, the Cockpit Voice Recorder and the flight data recorder in the Ministry of Transport were secured, since the sub had not published it voluntarily. The Higher Regional Court of Vienna is now checking whether it was legal. Passenger attorney Wolfgang List had previously submitted a presentation of the fact that the Vienna public prosecutor's office, which expresses suspicion of corruption and other crimes. This Initiative led to an examination of the initial suspicion and subsequently to an investigation, which increases the complexity of the case.

In an interim report of the SUB, an “incident” and not an “accident” are spoken of, which triggers further discussions about the incident and its legal consequences. Lawyer List has also criticized the Sub to have prevented the publication of the records, which ensures high concern in the aviation industry.

international perspectives and accident investigations

International private reports confirm that it is a “serious accident”. Nevertheless, the records of Cockpit Voice Recorder and flight data writer have not yet been evaluated. At the same time, the Korneuburg public prosecutor is examining the accusation of negligent community risk, which illustrates the scope of the ongoing investigation. An end to the procedure is currently not foreseeable, which increases uncertainty for everyone involved.

The Federal Office for Flight Accident Investigation (BFU) has the task of examining accidents and serious disorders with civilian aircraft, as is explained on the BFU website. Your investigations are independent of the judicial or administrative procedure and are only used for accident prevention. The BFU only provides investigations if significant knowledge of aviation safety can be expected. In this context, it is important that your reports do not contain any findings on guilt or claims, but only work towards security, which underlines the relevance of these examinations for the ongoing legal issues.

Due to the multitude of investigations and the complexity of the situation, the public will continue to pay close attention to the developments in this case.