OK. I shall explain.
The purpose of the CVR and FDR, and indeed interviews with those who were there and all the other bits and pieces used in investigations is to provide
safety investigators with data to support a
safety investigation. Ultimately the purpose of safety investions is to explain why an accident occurred, with the view to learning where any safety issues might lie so that action can be taken - industry-wide if necessary - to reduce the chances of a similar accident occurring again.
Crucially, the purpose of a safety investigation is not necessarily to 'point the finger'. The following appears at the start of every investigation report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau:
Quote:
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It is not the object of an investigation to determine blame or liability. However, an investigation report must include factual material of sufficient weight to support the analysis and findings. At all times the ATSB endeavours to balance the use of material that could imply adverse comment with the need to properly explain what happened, and why, in a fair and unbiased manner.
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In other words - use the available data to work out what went wrong and why it went wrong. That is why accidents are investigated.
They are not investigated to apportion 'blame' in a criminal sense.
The problem as I see it with involving criminal prosecutions is the very natural instinct of people to want to protect themselves. A pilot who is being interviewed following an accident that may or may not have been 'their fault' will naturally clam up and not tell the whole story if in doing so there is a chance that what they say will later be used in court proceedings against them. This of course means that the entire story will not come out, which has far-reaching implications for future aviation safety.
Aviation is a complex system. Humans being humans will continue to make mistakes. There are very real psychological phenomena which affect human performance and behaviour and can lead to these mistakes (fixation with landing is one such issue cited in the report into this accident). The difference of course with aviation is that such mistakes can turn very nasty for a lot of people. Investigate accidents to find out why the crew made those mistakes, sure. But criminal prosecution for making such mistakes - for the very act of
being human - is surely not the way to go.