EU to add pressure on Yemen over Comoros "stalled" investigation

According to Flightglobal, French officials claim the investigation into the Yemenia A310 which crashed off the coast of the Comoros Islands in June 2009, killing all but one of the 153 people on board, has "stalled". It quoted French transport minister Thierry Mariani as saying that despite offers of assistance from France's Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses - there had been a lack of co-operation from the Yemeni authorities and no inquiry report from the Comoros.

Following discussions with representatives of the victims' families, Mariani was quoted as saying: "The government is more determined than ever to shed some light on this tragedy."

Flightglobal said the Minister had called the situation "unacceptable" and said France would maintain diplomatic pressure and examine all options available, adding that this includes exploring, with the European Commission, the implications of the Yemeni authorities' attitude regarding flight safety at Yemenia.

Yemenia has previously been discussed by the European Air Safety Committee - responsible for drawing-up the blacklist of banned airlines - but has not faced restrictions to its services as a result.

Yemenia had earlier complained that the French attitude to the crash had led to some 70% of its business from Europe. There had been huge disputes between the airline and investigators. The airline claimed bad weather had been the primary cause but sources familiar with the investigation had said pilot error and confusion in the cockpit of a Yemenia Airways jetliner caused the plane to crash in the Indian Ocean as it tried to land in the Comoros Islands.

"There's no final report on the findings of the investigation yet, so it's too early to speculate on what caused the crash," Yemenia Airways Chairman Abdulkalek Saleh Al Qadi said. "No other airline has had such a negative attack after an accident," Mr. Al Qadi said. Yemenia has lost 70% of its traffic from Europe, he said, because French authorities expressed concerns about Yemenia's safety "even before a full investigation."

According to the Wall Street Journal there was no indication the 19-year-old plane or its engines malfunctioned. Instead, the newspaper claims investigators believe the pilots were overwhelmed by the tasks of flying while maintaining situational awareness. While bad weather and rudimentary airport systems were apparently contributing factors, the pilots' actions seem to have been the root cause of the crash,the newspaper said