KEY POINTS:
Air NZ chief executive Rob Fyfe has criticised French investigators for giving a preliminary report into the Air New Zealand Airbus accident to the media before the airline and the families who lost loved ones.
Mr Fyfe was critical of the timing of the report, saying while he was aware it was coming he and the victims' families were frustrated at not seeing it before it appeared in the media.
The French bureau for accident investigation (BEA) released the report early yesterday morning.
"It disappoints me the BEA chose to release their report to media, under embargo, half a day before the report was made available to Air New Zealand and the families who lost their loved ones," said Mr Fyfe.
"It meant I was responding to media calls before I had even had a chance to read the report."
Five New Zealanders were killed in the airbus crash off the southern coast of France on November 27 last year. Air New Zealand staff killed were pilot Brian Horrell, 52, and engineers Murray White, 37, Michael Gyles, 49, and Noel Marsh, 35.
Civil Aviation Authority inspector Jeremy Cook, 58, was the other Kiwi victim. The two German pilots on board have never been fully named.
New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission also sent a representative to France for the investigation and yesterday chief investigator Tim Burfoot admitted the commission had received a copy of the report before family members or Air NZ, which received it at the same time as the public - 5am yesterday.
Mr Burfoot said that was up to the French investigators and it was not up to TAIC to comment on whether it was appropriate.
The family of Noel Marsh, a Christchurch aircraft engineer killed in the crash, shared the concerns expressed by Rob Fyfe.
While they did not wish to be quoted by the Herald yesterday, they had wanted to see the report before it became public and were clearly
upset they were not afforded that opportunity.
They did not want to make any comment on the contents of the report without having had a chance to read it.
Mr Marsh's widow, Tracey Marsh, recently gave birth to a daughter, more than two months after his death.
Michael Harnischfeger, who describes himself as a close friend of one of the German pilots killed, contacted the Herald recently in a bid to get information on the crash investigation, as none had been forthcoming in his own country.
"In Germany the coverage stopped a few days after the tragedy, after the black boxes had been recovered. Even the release of the safety bulletin by Airbus on January 23 has not been in the print media or the television channels - at least not to my knowledge.
"Some people say it is because Airbus wants to keep the case low and not in the public - well I'm not sure."
As little information had been released on the pilots by their families or employer, Mr Harnischfeger said he would respect their privacy.
"Maybe we Germans have a different attitude for privacy and publicity than people in New Zealand."
- NZPA
PILOTS WERE VETERANS
The report into the air crash reveals a few details about the German pilots, whose identities have never been released by German authorities.
The only public information on their identities are their first names and the initial of their surnames. Norbert K and Theo K were both captains for the company XL Airways and came from the Frankfurt region.
The report reveals the pilot was 51 and had been flying since gaining his licence in 1987. He had been employed by XL Airways since February 2006 and had more than 12,700 flying hours - more than 7000 on Airbus A320s.
The co-pilot, 52, had more than 11,600 flying hours since gaining his licence in 1988.
They were piloting the plane as it still belonged to XL Airways and was on the German register.
The captain was previously an observer on a test flight for the plane.
