Crucial week on Concord's trial : Will it check all facts on Runway and Eco-Political Context ?

   *Pontoise/4.2.10/- The trial on the responsibilities for Concord's deadly air-crash, which probably had  the most far-reaching consequences  in Aviation's History, indirectly affecting even Europe's role in the World until today (See infra), risks to continue next week at Pontoise (Paris' North-West : Val d'Oise area), without a certainty yet to clearly establish all the facts on the strange situation that existed at the runway before the fatal lift-off, or to thoroughly examine its economico-political context and what was really at stake, as it is clearly indicated by various facts observed by "EuroFora" on the spot.

    After a hasty mention made only Wednesday afternoon (February 3), it  seems that it's only from the beginning of next week that theses circunstances, and in particular the apparently strange circumstances around the runway shortly before the fatal flight, might have a chance to be examined by the Court, according to what a Lawyer representing one of the Victims, Me Christian Bousserez,  told "EuroFora", confirmed by the "Plan" of the 3 Months-long Hearings shown to "EuroFora" by Judge Prach, in charge of Press relations : Tuesday, February 9, is due to be devoted to the "Preparation of the Flight", as the Court's President confirmed on Thursday, while from Wednesday, February 10, starts the "hot" issue about "the Accident and its Causes", due to unfold during many days.

 

    The July 2000 unprecedented crash of the prestigious Supersonic, TransContinental Franco-British Airplane in Paris killed more than 100 mainly German passengers, all the crew and even more people who stayed at an hotel destroyed by the incident (French).  10 years later, the real cause of this exceptional incident is still strongly disputed.

    But the economico-political ramifications of this unusual affair seem even more important  : Shortly afterwards, EADS reportedly withdrew its initial Plans from an International air-show exhibition at the UK, while a Press-campaign pushed the French Government (led then by Socialist ex-leader Jospin) to apparently drop plans to develop  new High-Tech Supersonic airplanes (civil and/or military), and focus, instead, only into an old project, dated from the 1980ies, to build a simple, low-tech "Local Bus" in Military Transport, whose range was limited only to EU's neighborhood, while also being unable to lift even one (1) modern Tank, too heavy for such an old "cockoo", unable to fly as far as EU's Space-base at Kuru, (French Gyuane), nor to Afghanistan, etc., but costing more than 22 Billions € : The controversial A400M, which has even been seriously delayed since, while its constructors multiply demands for even more money (+ 5,6 Billions € to add in 2010, according to the Press), threatening to abandon it, otherwise. Meanwhile, however, contrary to Europe, who blocked its money to fund A400M's controversial, low-tech project, the USA preferred to invest their money in the creation of a new, ... Supersonic Airplane, able to do Vertical lift-off and even to escape to Radar monitoring : The Joint Fight Striker. In addition, the US keeps its Boeing Globe-Masters, able of heavy TransContinental flights, as well as Russia with Iliouchin and Ukraine with Antonov, while EU countries risk to be limited in a "light" "Local Bus", without any Global ambition, which blocks  the greatest amount of Money ever spended in any European project, (more than 25 Billions € !), delaying or condemning many other, much more innovative and ambitious projects, really needed for a Europe able to play an important role in the World, (fex. GALILEO Satellite Navigation System, New Generation AirFighter, Airplane "of the Future", Spatial Early Warning System, etc). At the same time (around 1999-2003), the controversialm A400M old project was also abused as a supplementary argument for those lobbies (most of them notoriously out of the EU) who wanted, in parallel, to push Turkey's controversial EU bid, which provoked an unprecedented blockade and multi-annual delay of EU's Institutional progres, after 3 "NO" in 3 Referenda in France, Holland and Ireland between 2005-2007, continuing also with a series of Popular Votes against Ankara's controversial EU aims in Presidential and Legislative Elections in France (2007), National Elections in Germany (9/2009), and even EU Parliament's Elections on June 2009 in many Member Countries (fex. France, Germany, Austria, Holland, Bulgaria, etc., even in the UK). In brief, the incident appears at least indirectly linked to -or exploited by-  big GeoPolitical Debates on Europe's role in the World.

In addition to USA's Continental Airlines (suspected to be responsible for a 45 cm metal strip left at Concord's runway, which could have provoked a series of damages), among the accused are also Contructors and even conceptors of Concord, a notoriously voluntaristic project of the De Gaule - Pompidou era, enlarging considerably the range of questions raised by this unique affair.

    However, none of the above mentioned big Economico-Political stakes, apparently surrounding the 7/2000 Concord strange deadly, exceptional crash, isn't mentioned anywhere explicitly , nor even evoked in the current Concord trial files, at least not as far as they are known to the Public, and at least not until now, excepts, perhaps, only indirectly.

    More surprisingly, Facts and legitimate Questions inevitably raised about the strange situation that existed at the Runway just before the exceptionally fatal lift-off, apparently don't seem to be explicitly included among the main Topics scheduled to be throroughly  examined by the Court during the next few crucial days.

    The only witnesses who spoke until now about the situation that existed at the runway before the fatal lift-off were herd by Pontoise's Court only on Wednesday, February 3 : The Date chosen by some Trade Unions for a rare Strike at France's Railroad Company SNCF, which delayed and/or blocked much of the traffic, practically cutting off Pontoise from Paris' center, and hindering or making too cumbersome the circulation of Journalists, most of whom (including "EuroFora") were obliged to give up and stay away. This unfortunate fact regretably limited the Press coverage on this crucial point, curiously provoking a partial "black out".

 

    The Court having no Records of the Hearings due to be made accessible to the Public or even to the Press, as an Official told "EuroFora", people are obliged to be limited only to the few available Press Reports on that point, at least for the moment, according to which, strange Facts surrounded, indeed, the runway, just before the exceptional deadly crash, which provoked (and/or was exploited for) many Economic and Political consequences (See supra) :

    Among other facts, it's obviously astonishing that eyewitnesses were surprised to find many Metallic and other pieces thrown at the two sides of the runway, while the required Maintenance check-up had been exceptionally cancelled, because of a ..."Fire-fighting Test" going-on at this precise runway just before the exceptionally fatal lift-off, which notoriously resulted in an unprecedented explosion after a fire whose real origins are controversial..

    Such strange Facts are not necessarily "similar to those used by the American Continental Airlines' claim" that the real cause of the fire wouldn't be a damage provoked by a 45 cm long metallic strip fallen from an ACA airplane only a few minutes before Concord's planned flight (according to BEA's main conclusions, apparently adopted by the Attorney), but, on the contrary, an "earlier incident at the runway", contrary to what a collegue Journalist, closely following the Concord process, said afterwards to "EuroFora".

    Obviously, even if such an hypothesis might not be excluded a priori, on the contrary, such strange Facts as those which were observed at the runway (See supra), could, eventually, (and in particularly if anyone might have searched to provoke an "accident"), be added to the surprising 45 cm long metal strip fallen from the ACA plane, f.ex. by multiplying such dangerous metallic a.o. objects abandoned at the runway, while also hindering/delaying the required Maintenance operation at the runway which had been initially scheduled to clean-up shortly before the fatal Concord crash, perhaps adding some Inflamatory Chemical substances forgotten by the on-going "Fire-fighting Test", etc., so that the overall result would inevitably be to multiply converging factors whose additional effect augmented the risks of an incident.

    Given what was apparently at stake (See supra), nobody could seriously exclude any hypothesis without thoroughly examining all the facts.  Certainly not, particularly in front of a Penal Court.

    Meanwhile, at the last Hearing of this week, when "EuroFora" was present, the final Witness heard before the week-end, concluded by replying to a general question raised by  the Attorney on the "Repairs" eventually due to airplanes, that, according to the rules, the managing Air Compagny had to make any necessary repair, either at its own initiative, or according to the Constructor Industry's advise, if the importance of the repair was greater that a threshhold defined by the technical specifications of any airplane.

    Pontoise's "Tribunal Correctionel", located at a distance of more than 1 Hour from Paris' center, inside a new, superbe white marble Building at the top of a Hill with an eye-catching view over Paris, where Airplanes (and even .. FireFighters' cars) often cross a Landscape full of Young College Students, has really an exceptionally important mission to accomplish on the Concord case in order to succeed to help find the Truth and fully establish all relevant Facts  in this thorny affair.