Air India Inquiry: Cost May Have Prevented Full-Scale Baggage Search
Posted May 16, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Did an effort to save money end up costing 329 people their lives? That difficult question was raised on Wednesday as the public inquiry into the Air India tragedy continued.
Daniel Lalonde, who was an 18-year-old airport security guard when Flight 182 made its doomed final journey on June 23, 1985, testified that officials at Montreal ‘s Mirabel Airport decided that delaying the plane would have been too expensive, and subsequently dismissed a full-scale baggage check.
Lalonde claims he overheard an Air India security officer and another man, from either Air Canada or Transport Canada , discussing monetary concerns.
“I think, from what I saw and heard, the money or the cost of keeping the plane on the tarmac was very high,” said Lalonde. “And pretty much in conjunction with the other fellow, they decided to send the plane because of that fact.”
Lalonde, who is now an Ontario provincial police sergeant, admitted he didn’t tell his story when interviewed a few days after the devastating crash, claiming he was young and nervous.
Norm Boxall, a lawyer for the families of the Air India victims, said Lalonde’s testimony didn’t really surprise him.
“To hold back a big plane and all those passengers, perhaps overnight in hotels and so on, there would be a significant cost involved,” Boxall said outside the hearing, adding that “safety should come before cost. I can’t imagine any person that would think, if there’s a safety issue, that cost would come first.”
Despite Wednesday’s testimony, Air India’s lead council says money had nothing to do with it.
“It’s absolutely absurd to suggest that Air India would risk of lives of their passengers and 22 crew members for essentially parking charges…there were no increased costs,” said Soma Ray-Ellis.
