Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Esther FOSSI
Published on 2024-03-20 14:38:04
The court decision made public was signed on March 18, 2024. Boeing Company and Pratt & Whitney are jointly ordered to pay 158,480,000,000 FCFA to Cameroon Airlines in liquidation. This fine stems from an accident involving the Boeing 737 registered as TJ CBD, which occurred on August 30, 1984, at Douala on the stop point of runway 12/30.
According to the court ruling from the Wouri High Court, the accident occurred in multiple sequences. There was a rupture of the disk of the seventh stage of the right engine at power-up at the entry point of runway 13/30 at Douala airport.
Additionally, the perforation of the right wing fuel tank by the debris released by the seventh stage disk, causing fuel leakage onto the engine and parking area. Another sequence described by the court was the sparks produced by the seventh stage disk on contact with the parking area, igniting the fuel spilled on the hot parts of the engine and taxiway, resulting in the fire that destroyed the aircraft.
These damages occurred while Boeing Company was responsible for the design and overall conception of the Boeing 737 registered as TJ CBD, and Pratt & Whitney was the designer and manufacturer of the engine in which the disk that ruptured and punctured the fuel tank of the aircraft was located.
According to the tribunal, the implicated companies did not adhere to the imperative safety standards for aviation as outlined in the 1944 Chicago Convention and the Code of Federal Regulations of April 6, 1970, from the United States of America.
Therefore, the negligence of these two companies caused damages to “Cameroon Airlines in liquidation.” The fine aims to compensate the incurred damages, as follows: 27,780,000,000 FCFA for the loss of the aircraft, 127,500,000,000 FCFA for loss of operation, 3,000,000,000 FCFA for non-material damages, and 200,000,000 FCFA for legal fees.
Read the original article(French) on Journal du Cameroun
