We Remember Them

Another year has passed and we should bow our heads and solemnly remember those that perished in an air crash on this date some 13 years ago.

Amen.

Thank you, Amy, for this reminder . . . and to John for your photo of the island's tasteful memorial.

I can hardly believe it's been that long. We were there the previous week. May they all RIP

There, but for the grace of god...

Thank you for the reminder.

God has nothing to do with this. All I remember is how pilots f****ed it up big time.

Human errors = 80% of air accidents. And this one is part of the statistics.

I do have respect for the victims' families, those who really suffer from this. I hope they find peace.

amyb said:

Another year has passed and we should bow our heads and solemnly remember those that perished in an air crash on this date some 13 years ago.

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Agree Amy...regardless of fault/blame...tragic.

This is a time to show respect for those who perished in this tragic accident and to empathize with their loved ones.

In that spirit I did some minor editing of this thread.

We did not know the island until ten years ago but have visited the site a number of times and bowed our heads in remembrance of the tragedy. Thank you for reminding us.

tim said:

This is a time to show respect for those who perished in this tragic accident and to empathize with their loved ones.

In that spirit I did some minor editing of this thread.

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I don't disagree, Tim. I was curious as to what caused the crash, though. If my understanding of some technical terms is correct, apparently the assumption is that the pilot reversed pitch of the propellers on final approach, sending the plane into an untenable pitch. I think this manœuvre is reserved for braking and reversing on the ground. Islander will correct any misinterpretations, please.

cassidain said:

I don't disagree, Tim. I was curious as to what caused the crash, though. If my understanding of some technical terms is correct, apparently the assumption is that the pilot reversed pitch of the propellers on final approach, sending the plane into an untenable pitch. I think this manœuvre is reserved for braking and reversing on the ground. Islander will correct any misinterpretations, please.

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You're absolutely right Cassidain, this is exactly what happened as stated in the BEA (Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses) report (The BEA is the equivalent of the US NTSB - National Transport Safety Board). It took several years of investigation to come up with that conclusion. As for all air accidents, authorities join forces to establish reasons for the crash. The join task force involves authorities from the country where the accident took place, where the airline is from (in this case France and France) and where the aircraft has been manufactured (Canada in this case).

tim said:

This is a time to show respect for those who perished in this tragic accident and to empathize with their loved ones.

In that spirit I did some minor editing of this thread.

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Tim, my post that you deleted / moderated was not displaying any disrespect to the victims or their families. it simply reminded everyone why the accident took place in the first place, and why the airline (Air Caraibes is this case) should emphasize on their pilot training. As a professional pilot, it makes me sick to see what the crew did to these families. Perhaps my message didn't come across the right way.

I traveled back to SXM that day, and unknowingly walked right passed the waiting passengers on their way to SBH.

In spite of the cause, I have never forgotten the feeling of my heart breaking when I heard a few hours later what had happened.

Tom

islander said:

Tim, my post that you deleted / moderated was not displaying any disrespect to the victims or their families. it simply reminded everyone why the accident took place in the first place, and why the airline (Air Caraibes is this case) should emphasize on their pilot training. As a professional pilot, it makes me sick to see what the crew did to these families. Perhaps my message didn't come across the right way.

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There are days for lectures and then days for remembrance.

Rightly, days to remember why it happened.

Not sure who gets to set the rules for appropriate ways to mark the anniversary of a devastating event such as this one. Personally, I said a brief, silent prayer for the souls of the departed. Had I known any of the victims I would have grieved anew. But, being only cursorily familiar with the accident, I was gratified to learn the cause of the crash. The human spirit also yearns to know why things happened the way they did. N'est-ce pas ?

Yes, I was there on the island that fateful day. I saw the smoke rising from Corossal. A very solemn day it was.

~ Jean d'Arme ~

Le Journal

The correct order of appearance is as follows (left to right):

Fabrice Danet, Nils Dufau, Jean-Marie Greaux, Alex Jaqua, Sabin Cagan, Christian Cagan.

BTW, please ask any of them what they think of the accident! (expect heated discussion to follow). You will realize that I'm not alone in the thinking explained above. Anger contained in respect is probably the best way of describing it.

Alex is a close friend of mine and was in the front line when the crash happened. He is the one who pushed the "emergency button". Alex is also a pilot and have in depth knowledge of St Barths aviation...

My very good friend Fred (not on the picture) was flying in final approach with his Piper Aztec just behind the twin otter. He literally saw the crash "in front of his eyes", and was the first one to land in St Barths afterwards.

I wasn't on the island when this happened, but on holiday in France. I just arrived in Paris from St Barths when I saw what happened on TV channel TF1, the number one public television in France, on the 8 o'clock news. This was terrifying.

On a last note, I personally knew two victims of the crash (not the pilots).

So please no more patronizing or moderating about what I should say or think about this. I perfectly have the right to be upset, just like most of the people close enough to the crash are.