Fri, Aug 06, 2004
Ruling In Unprecedented Criminal Trial
A Japanese court has cleared a Japan
Airlines pilot of professional negligence in a 1997 incident that
led to the eventual death of a flight attendant and injury to 13
passengers.
Koichi Takamoto was captain on JAL Flight 706 from Hong Kong to
Nagoya on June 8, 1997. Prosecutors accused him of making abrupt
changes in the MD-11's attitude without disengaging the autopilot.
That move is prohibited in the aircraft's operating manual,
according to civil aviation investigators. Flight attendant Atsuko
Taniguchi, 34, was thrown to the floor and then to the ceiling by
the violent maneuver. She died 20 months later after sustaining
severe head injuries.
While clearing Takamoto of criminal negligence, Presiding Judge
Yoji Ishiyama blamed the pilot for shaking the aircraft so
violently. At a news conference after the verdict was read,
Takamoto said again and again, "It is not acceptable."
His lawyers argued that the severe
jarring encountered by Flight 706 was caused by a brief computer
malfunction and turbulence along the route of flight. They also
argued that the 14 people who were hurt had disobeyed Takamoto's
instruction to fasten their seat belts.
But what disturbed the Air Line Pilots' Association of Japan
most was the use of a civil aviation investigative report in open
court. Japan is a signator to the Convention on International Civil
Aviation, which states in its bylaws that investigative reports
should be used only to prevent future accidents.
But Judge Ishiyama ruled that the report was admissible so long
as it had been made public.
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