WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2512/98 by Roberta ANGELILLI to the Commission. Air crash at Blagnac (France)
Date: 1998-07-30
Institutions: ANGELILLI, European Parliament
Subjects: air transport, judicial inquiry, right to justice, transport accident, transport licence

C 118/90

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.4.1999

(1999/C 118/111)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2512/98

by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission

(30 July 1998)

Subject: Air crash at Blagnac (France)

On 30 June 1994, at Toulouse airport (Blagnac, France), an A330 aircraft belonging to the Airbus Industrie
company crashed during a test flight, resulting in the deaths of the seven persons on board. The seven
victims included two Italian pilots working for Alitalia, Alberto Nassetti and Pier Paolo Racchetti, who
were in Toulouse for a five-day commercial training programme at the headquarters of the French
company.

The aircraft had not yet been officially approved and was flying with a provisional certificate. During test
flights, no passengers are allowed on board under any circumstances, and aircraft are obliged to have at
least two pilots with tester(cid:146)s licences at the controls. The A330 had only one such pilot on board, plus
another one with an ordinary pilot(cid:146)s licence. The programme for the training course did not include any
flights, but only classroom lessons.

Four years on from the accident, the French legal authorities have still not decided whether or not to take
out penal liability proceedings. A preliminary inquiry by the Directorate-General for Armaments of the
Ministry of Defence (pursuant to the French air navigation code) was closed after seven months. The
judicial inquiry (under the judge Billaud) was concluded on 28 February 1998. The Public Prosecutor(cid:146)s
office had three months to decide whether to shelve the matter or refer it to the relevant court; it has not
replied to date.

In view of the above, can the Commission state:

1. whether it intends to ask the French authorities to explain the reasons for this flagrant and inexplicable

delay in deciding whether the proceedings should go ahead;

2. whether it intends to ask the Italian authorities why the consulate in Toulouse has offered no support

of any kind to the victims(cid:146) relatives.

Answer given by Ms Gradin On behalf of the Commission

(24 September 1998)

The Commission informs the Honourable Member that it is not in a position to intervene with the
authorities of a Member State in the context of criminal proceedings initiated following a crash during a
test flight.

Article F of the Treaty on European Union requires the Union to respect fundamental rights as guaranteed
by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, and more specifically the right to due
process of law. Therefore it is for the person who considers that this right has been disregarded to
approach the competent court to have the infringement established, and if necessary, to bring a complaint
to the European Commission of Human Rights if all avenues under national law have been explored.

(1999/C 118/112)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2514/98

by Gianni Tamino (V) to the Commission

(30 July 1998)

Subject: Damaging impact of the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline

A huge gas pipeline is currently under construction in the Amazon area straddling Bolivia and Brazil. With
a length of 3700 km and a cost of more than US$ 2 billion, it will be the largest energy project in the region
and the fourth largest in the world. In the time (less than two years) that has elapsed since prospecting
began for the oil to be used for the Bolivia-Brazil pipeline, a large number of complaints have been filed in
Bolivia by members of the Amazon(cid:146)s indigenous communities, claiming abuses and breaches of local and
international law by the construction companies, and, in particular, deploring the severe damage caused to