Sydney Airport Message Board - Praying pilot jailed after fatal crash

Praying pilot jailed after fatal crash
March 25, 2009 - 11:09AM

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A Tunisian pilot who paused to pray instead of taking emergency measures before crash-landing his plane, killing 16 people, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an Italian court along with his co-pilot.

The 2005 crash at sea off Sicily left 23 survivors swimming for their lives, some clinging to a piece of the fuselage that remained floating after the ATR turbo-prop aircraft splintered upon impact.

A fuel-gauge malfunction was partly to blame but prosecutors also said the pilot succumbed to panic, praying out loud instead of following emergency procedures and then opting to crash-land the plane instead trying to reach a nearby airport.

Another five employees of Tuninter, a subsidiary of Tunisair, were sentenced to between eight and nine years in jail by the court, in a verdict handed down.

Italy banned Tuninter, a subsidiary of national carrier Tunisair, after an investigation showed that the plane had been fitted with the wrong fuel gauge.

The crew thought they had 3000 litres of fuel when they landed in Bari and requested only an additional 240 litres for the flight to Djerba, according to the Italian accident report.

The aircraft's two engines stopped nearly simultaneously and it was forced to come down in the sea around 18 nautical miles (33 kilometres) from Sicily's main city of Palermo.

Pilot Chafik Gharby and co-pilot Ali Kebaier were each given 10 years, Tuninter director general Moncef Zouari and technical director Zoueir Chetouane nine years, and two officials responsible for maintenance and a mechanic were given eight years, ANSA said.

The two acquitted were shop-floor technicians.

ANSA quoted the mother of one of the victims, Angela Trentadue, as saying that she was "quite satisfied with the judgement, even though no one can give me my daughter back".

Reuters and AFP