- Target:
- British Cabinet
- Region:
- United Kingdom
During a year-long effort by citizens to improve airline passenger safety in Britain's tiny Overseas Territory of Montserrat, a shocking chronicle has emerged regarding how British officials had suppressed Air Traffic Controllers' reports of an aircraft's repeated engine failures, how these same officials continue to obscure the identify of a plane involved in a near-fatal in-flight engine failure, and how for 2 years, have covered-up the final report on the inevitable fatal crash of the same aircraft.
While whistle-blowers and an investigation by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had uncovered a horrific series of incidents and airline behaviour, much more information has come to light since February when a Caribbean-based news agency, mnialive.com, started publishing details of the incidents and the public claims and counter-claims made by citizens, Foreign Office officials and the CAA's wholly-owned subsidiary, Air Safety Support International (ASSI).
The details are shocking. ASSI has confirmed any Mandatory Occurrence Reports (MOR) of engine-failure filed by Air Traffic Controllers prior to the crash would never have been published in order to protect the identity of the airline. The aviation authority has also attempted to obscure the identity of the aircraft involved in the earlier in-flight engine failure which, according to the news agency, has been identified as the same plane involved in the repeated ground failures and the fatal crash.
Links to relevant articles and press statements:
On behalf of the crash victims - Jason Forbes, Annya Duncan, Sandrama Poligadu and their families, and on behalf of all of us air passengers who are forced to use this service but no longer have confidence the regulatory system will place passenger safety above all other considerations, we, the undersigned, call for a formal judicial review regarding:
- Details and report history of the Nov 17, 2010 in-flight engine failure of VP-MON
- Details of all Mandatory Occurrence Reports filed by Montserrat and Antigua tower staff regarding engine-failure of VP-MON
- The handling and suppression of the final crash report of VP-MON
- A review of how the CAA handles publication of reports in situations where the UK AAIB is in possession of a report but where a different aviation authority is "tasked" with publication. Particularly important when the aviation authority has a policy which forbids publication of the report to the public.
Why a UK Judicial Review?
- A UK Act of Parliament has granted the British Governor power over air safety as the aviation "competent authority".
- The Governor has appointed a UK agency to regulate and report to him.
- The Regulator uses UK regulation and enforcement policies.
- The accident investigator was the UK AAIB.
- The airline operates under a UK Air Operator's Certificate.
We respectfully submit that the UK courts must hear these most important matters and release the findings and recommendations in a public forum.
Note: Participants' names, locations and e-mail addresses will not be displayed on this or any website. E-mail addresses are for verification purposes if such action becomes necessary. The printed petition along with the list of supporters will be delivered to Cabinet officials by hand.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The UK Judicial Review of Fatal Airline Crash petition to British Cabinet was written by David McKeand and is in the category Government at GoPetition.