A kind of inquiry to two pairs of eyes in short

The crash of flight AF447 Rio-Paris, beginning of June, at sea has placed the Office of investigations and analysis (BEA) on aviation safety under the spotlight. "Whenever an aircraft accident occurs, the air safety debate suddenly reappears", reminded - before the tragedy - a former Director of the DGCA (Directorate General of civil aviation). In maximum on all the television exposure, because loaded on this disaster, Paul-Louis Arslanian, the former Director of the BEA affected by the limit of age early in October, had to face the impatience of the families of the victims, who come to attack Airbus and its suppliers in the United States, the media, but also the critical drivers, who have taken the magnitude and are currently in the arms of iron with Air France. Last week, the Minister of transport, Dominique Bussereau, had to make the defence of the Office, which he described as "best of the world".

Under fire from critics, the BEA is particularly criticized his lack of reaction to the recent proliferation, on long-haul Airbus, failures of measure Pitot probes, built by Thales. Their abnormal obstruction seems to have participated in a fatal flight AF447 chain of events by preventing any assessment of the speed of the aircraft. "Ignore these failures is serious when dealing with so sophisticated aircraft. "Private capital information, its electronic brain suffers a stroke", strongly Gérard Arnoux, President of the Union of pilots of Air France (SPAF, minority) has focused civil party.

At the time where will engage the "phase 3" underwater research, the Organization remains on its positions: step of hasty conclusions as long as the essential to the understanding of the accident, black boxes are still by 4,000 metres of bottom. Paul-Louis Arslanian will remain a few months advising his successor, Jean-Paul Troadec, who may be a better Communicator. But the attacks are old. In the viewfinder: a caution that annoys and suspicion of collusion with the small world of the air. But what is this mysterious BEA, that today accused of all evils

400 investigations per year

At le Bourget, at a length of air and Space Museum hangar, the small 1950s style building housing the heir of the historic Bureau investigations - accidents pays not mine. A floor, 700 square metres, not more, including 250 square meters of laboratories. But under its antiquated allures of domestic SMEs has a curious mixture of seriousness, dynamism and craft along. The lobby rout with her large print framed representing a ship: "De Grasse", an anti-aircraft Cruiser!

Here, a team of 110 people, more than two thirds of whom are investigators, leads each year more than 400 investigations in general aviation or public transport, the reports are put online on the Internet. No time for unemployed. Not only the BEA is seized automatically of any accident or incident occurring in the hexagon and directs the investigation, but it is also abroad, whenever the France is the State of design or construction of equipment (Airbus, Dassault, Eurocopter, Snecma), the State of registration of the aircraft or the airline that operates it. It is also present when an accident abroad causes French victims, and meets every year in many countries using its very sharp skills. The crash of the Rio-Paris flight which took place in international waters, the BEA is on the arm the direction of this survey out. "For us, it has started by thirty days of job non-stop," said an investigator. "Since my entry to the BEA, in 1991, I have never known as difficult cases: not recorders, witnesses, radar signals step step." "And less available information, more must be finely dissect the little one has at hand," sighs Alain Bouillard, responsible for the département investigation and chief investigator on the accident of the AF447.

The mission of the Office: "investigate the reasons for accidents, serious incidents and even small events which, placed end to end, could degenerate", explains in the BEA. "It occurs when something failed: the machine, human, or a combination of the two", is an expert. Methods: they are the same everywhere in the world, as codified since 1946 by the international organization of civil aviation (ICAO). Its objective: avoid as much as possible that a type of given accident does not happen again. Work of inquiry with the average duration of one year and a half to two years, the Office shall transmit recommendations to the DGAC to EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) and even to ICAO, supervisory authorities which, alone, can apply the precautionary principle and make decisions. Upon arrival, nothing spectacular for the general public: "the air is a very sharp industry and improvements are at the margin," is it in the BEA.

Cooperation with the judicial investigation

Prevention, and nothing more, because the BEA is not there for point violations, identify responsibilities or look guilty. This is the case of the judicial investigation, under the responsibility of a magistrate. This does not preclude technical investigators and investigators judicial arrive together at the scene of a disaster, just after the fire. "Between us, the cooperation is full." "Our investigators have all access to the same things," said command of the force of air transportation. A kind of inquiry "to two pairs of eyes", in short. But up to a point: on the one hand, should be one truth, on the other, can simply causes "probable", or "possible". And the time of justice is not prevention, prisoner of the emergency: after the crash of the Concorde at Roissy, in 2000, the BEA issued its report in 2001. The judicial investigation, it was completed in 2007.

"Hoisted full Amazon."

In the absence of human testimony, the work of the investigators is to "speak" devices, or what is left. The famous 'black boxes' (which include exchanges between pilots and the recordings of the flight parameters, for the operation of which the BEA is one of the world's leading specialists), avionics (embedded electronics), the deformation of materials, everything passes. Up to the video on the mobile phone of a passenger was found after the crash, which can provide capitaux sound elements.

"The difficulty is read information that is not in their normal state of the fact of the fire or water, and does not degrade under review", explains Christophe Menez, young French Head of the Department analyses of BEA. After "have opened and closed doors, and itself" it is possible, it is not possible "", you can speculate, develop analyses describe sequences of events that led to a disaster.

For this, the Organization has a battalion of investigators, "all public servants or public officials", all run high flight training and flight (engineers of Enac, Sup'Aéro, Ensica (higher national school of engineers of constructions aéronautiques), Polytechnique, Ecole normale supérieure, doctors of the University). All will follow three years of on-the-job training, before becoming confirmed investigators. "Generalist" investigators are attached to the BEA; others are seconded by their specialty for three years renewable contracts: they come which branch of the weapons, which the weather of the industry, or of the army. Some are investigators investigative and "can, on the ground, being hoisted in the full Amazon." Twenty-five technical investigators work on their side in the laboratories of le Bourget, a small world at the sunflower, where "we're going the magnifying glass to electron microscopy and x-ray scanning" and where it does not hesitate "to develop ourselves tools and computer software when they exist not on the market", says Christophe Menez.

"Everyone leaves feathers"

Here, the BEA develops internationally recognized knowledge continuously. Specific cases, it will also find at major centres Toulouse aeronautical research or external industrialists, such as the AEC (Test Centre), the expertise or the space he needs.

A 1,000 Leagues of the 35 hours", the tribe of obstinate is weary with passion on puzzles alongside failure and death. No wonder that the turn over of investigators is fast: they remain in position until six to seven years on average. "It is spent." "By superposition of investigations, a huge accumulation and exhausting work on"last moments"," explains this young and already ex-enquêteur. Of the investigation into the crash of the Concorde, even the "senior" Alain Bouillard inherited an ulcer in the stomach. "Everyone leaves with feathers", recognizes the BEA framework, which is also its maximum to accompany his troops psychologically. From this point of view, the resumption planned early 2010 research in the sea of the RES of the Airbus is carrying huge hopes, but it will be in no doubt the nerves of the investigators, once more, strained.