- Title: VIETNAM: EADS chief gives condolences to families of Air France crash victims
- Date: 7th June 2009
- Summary: HANOI, VIETNAM (5 JUNE, 2009) (REUTERS) PAN UP: VIEW OF HOTEL METROPOLE HANOI NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM EUROPEAN AERONAUTIC DEFENCE AND SPACE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER LOUIS GALLOIS AT NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN AERONAUTIC DEFENCE AND SPACE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LOUIS GALLOIS, SAYING: "You know, it's a human drama. We have families behind that and I don't want to elaborate on the topic which is a drama for the families. We are discussing, we are involved with investigation, we are doing.. we are giving our utmost support. We share the sadness of the families." MORE OF JOURNALISTS LISTENING JOURNALISTS TALKING WITH MR GALLOIS ***FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SOUNDBITE (English) EUROPEAN AERONAUTIC DEFENCE AND SPACE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LOUIS GALLOIS, SAYING: "My only reaction is compassion and to share the sadness of the families. That is the first reaction I could express because the world aeronautic community which is wounded by this accident. I was in Paris when (French) president (Nicolas) Sarkozy was meeting with the families. Now, I think, we have to leave the families quiet and serene as much as possible." GALLOIS LEAVING JOURNALISTS IN HOTEL CORRIDOR
- Embargoed: 22nd June 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVA48HAOJF2MZGWM23K8ATV5SNF0
- Story Text: The head of the European Aeronautic and Defence company which builds the Airbus plane which crashed in the sea on a Air France flight from Brazil to France asks for compassion to the families of the 288 victims on board.
The chief executive officer of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS) said on Friday (June 5) the world's aeronautic community was deeply affected by the crash of an Airbus A330-200 this week, which killed 228 people.
Airbus is the commercial plane making arm of EADS.
Louis Gallois said his company was working with those involved in the investigation to try to get to the bottom of the mystery about how the plane went down.
"You know, it's a human drama. We have families behind that and I don't want to elaborate on the topic which is a drama for the families. We are discussing, we are involved with investigation, we are doing..we are giving our utmost support. We share the sadness of the families," Gallois said.
He expressed condolences to the families of the victims, saying they now needed to be left in peace.
"My only reaction is compassion and to share the sadness of the families. That is the first reaction I could express because the world aeronautic community which is wounded by this accident. I was in Paris when (French) president (Nicolas) Sarkozy was meeting with the families. Now, I think, we have to leave the families quiet and serene as much as possible," Gallois said.
Brazilian search teams on Thursday (June 4) scoured choppy Atlantic waters over a 6,000 sq km (2,300 sq mile) area for remains of the crashed Air France jet after the first debris retrieved by helicopter turned out to be trash.
Eleven air force planes have been searching off Brazil's northeastern coast.
With hopes of finding any bodies waning as the search headed into its fifth day, Brazil's military shifted focus to recovering wreckage from the Airbus A330-200 crash.
The New York Times reported that Airbus issued a warning on Thursday to airlines that pilots should follow "established procedures" if they suspect airspeed indicators are not working.
The warning followed a flurry of speculation that the plane may have crashed because it flew into a storm too fast. But Brazilian and French officials cautioned that the evidence was far too slim to offer explanations.
The New York Times said Airbus told clients: "there was inconsistency between the different measured airspeeds" in the Airbus 330 that crashed, though the company noted it was not prejudging the investigation's outcome.
Other reports from the Wall Street Journal and France's Le Monde both pointed to air speed, combined with thunderstorms in a notoriously dangerous tropical area, as a potential factor in the crash that has baffled aviation experts.
Airbus earlier declined to comment.
Air France Flight 447 was en route to Paris when it plunged into the Atlantic four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro.
Experts have been mystified by the sudden crash of a modern airliner operated by three experienced pilots. Determining what happened may be difficult because the plane's flight data and voice recorders may be at the bottom of the ocean. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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