Investigations against AUA: Was the chief of security waiting for hail accident?

Investigations against AUA: Was the chief of security waiting for hail accident?

Almost ten months after a dramatic hailstan weather, in which an Airlines Austrian Airlines Airlines (AUA) was badly damaged, the Vienna public prosecutor's office has expanded the investigation against the head of the Federal Security Investigation Agency (SUB) and against six other people. The suspicion is for abuse of office, promotion and evidence suppression, but the allegations between the suspects differ.

The Airbus A320 of the AUA was on the return flight of Palma de Mallorca to Vienna on June 9, 2024 when he got into a thunderstorm cell. In this critical situation, an emergency call ("Mayday") was discontinued, which ended the machine safely at Wien-Schwechat Airport. Fortunately, there were no injuries among the passengers, but the plane suffered significant damage.

Investigations and legal steps

In the past three weeks, the Cockpit Voice Recorder and the flight data writer in the Ministry of Transport were secured after the sub had not published them voluntarily. Passenger attorney Wolfgang List had previously submitted a presentation of the fact that the Vienna public prosecutor's office was suspected of corruption and other crimes. Based on this information, the Vienna Anklebörde checked the initial suspicion and initiated an investigation.

The SUB had classified the incident as a "incident" and not as a "accident" in its interim report. Lawyer List criticized the sub sharply for blocking the publication of the Voice Recorder and the data storage. In a further step, the head of the SUB and the other suspects made the affected procedures.

status and international report

International private reports describe the incident as a “serious accident”. However, the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data writer have not yet been evaluated. The Vienna Higher Regional Court must now decide whether the securing of these records was legal. In addition, the Korneuburg public prosecutor continues to check the allegation of negligent community hazard. A final end to the investigation is currently not foreseeable due to the scope of the surveys.

The Federal Office for Flight Accident Investigation (BFU) is active in accordance with Regulation No. 996/2010 and the flight accident investigation law. It examines accidents and severe disorders with civilian aircraft. The BFU acts independently of the judicial or administrative procedure and pursues the goal of accident prevention. Reports and security recommendations from the BFU do not contain any findings on guilt, liability or claims, which makes the situation even more complicated.

The developments about the AUA and the associated legal disputes show how critical the situation for the persons involved and how important the information for aviation safety remains.

For further details on the legal investigations and the relevance of the incidents, visit Oe24.at or to learn more about the work of the BFU here .