海保ヘリ墜落 原因究明を阻む悪質な隠蔽だ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Aug. 23, 2010)
JCG's cover-up obstructs investigation
海保ヘリ墜落　原因究明を阻む悪質な隠蔽だ（8月22日付・読売社説）

The outrageous cover-up by the Japan Coast Guard over a recent fatal helicopter accident is nothing but an attempt to obstruct the investigation.
　海上保安庁の言語道断の隠蔽(いんぺい)行為が明るみに出た。原因調査の妨害行為にほかならない。

The 6th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters' helicopter Akizuru hit power lines and crashed in the Seto Inland Sea off Kagawa Prefecture on Wednesday afternoon, killing all five aboard.
　第６管区海上保安本部のヘリコプターが瀬戸内海上空で送電線に触れて墜落、乗員５人が死亡する事故が起きたのは、１８日午後のことだった。

For more than a day after the accident, the coast guard concealed the fact that one of the purposes of the helicopter's flight was a demonstration for a group of legal trainees who were aboard a JCG patrol boat to experience coast guard missions at sea.
　それからまる１日以上も、飛行目的の一つが、海保の巡視艇に体験乗船している司法修習生向けのデモンストレーション飛行だったことを隠していたのだ。

The JCG initially said the helicopter was on a patrol flight and only changed its story when the media brought up the demonstration flights.
　それまではパトロールのためとだけ説明し、報道機関からの指摘を受けてデモ飛行を公表した。

It is not surprising that Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara strongly criticized the JCG, saying, "The coast guard's concealment is serious, and it should reflect deeply on its conduct."
　前原国土交通相が「隠していたことは問題だ。厳しく反省してもらわないといけない」と強く批判したのも当然である。

There is nothing wrong with carrying out demonstration flights. It is meaningful to give legal trainees an opportunity to observe the JCG's activities to help them understand the coast guard's mission.
　デモ飛行そのものが悪いのではない。海保の業務を理解してもらうために、司法修習生などに見学してもらうことは意味がある。

However, the coast guard even concealed the demonstration flights from an official of the ministry's Japan Transport Safety Board who visited the crash site. In a broad sense, the JCG's conduct appears to be an attempt to destroy evidence related to the crash.
　しかし、デモ飛行は事故の原因調査のため現地に出向いた国交省運輸安全委員会の調査官にも伏せられていた。広い意味で証拠の隠滅のようなものだろう。

Systematic deception

What makes the latest case heinous is that senior JCG officials, including the chief of the 6th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, systematically decided not to disclose the demonstration flights.
　さらに今回のケースが悪質なのは、６管の本部長ら幹部が集まって、デモ飛行は公表しないと組織ぐるみで決めていたことだ。

In addition, when the JCG first acknowledged conducting the demonstration flights, the chief of the headquarters' general affairs division said, "I intentionally decided it was better not to disclose [the demonstration flights]," indicating that it was his decision. The coast guard covered up another fact by saying the head of the headquarters and other senior JCG officials were not involved in the decision.
　しかも、最初にデモ飛行を認めた際には、総務課長が「自分が意図的に判断して発表しない方がいいと考えた」と、個人の判断であることを強調していた。これでは本部長らは無関係だったとする二重の隠蔽である。

The coast guard would never have acted in this manner if it had considered those who lost their lives in the line of duty and their bereaved families. The ministry should closely question the headquarters' chief and other senior JCG officials to lay the blame at the right door.
　任務遂行中に殉職した職員や遺族のことを考えれば、決してできない行為である。国交省としても６管の本部長以下の責任を厳しく問うべきだろう。

Commenting on the cover-up, the headquarters explained it did not mention the demonstration flights "because the site of the accident and the [area of the] demonstration flights were 17 kilometers apart and, therefore, they were unrelated."
　隠蔽について６管は「デモ飛行の場所と事故現場は１７キロ離れており、事故と関係なかったため」と釈明している。

Problem with flight plan?

However, the accident occurred between two demonstration flights when the helicopter was investigating an abandoned ship. Was there some problem with the helicopter's flight plan? A thorough investigation must be carried out before deciding on the relationship between the demonstration flights and the accident.
　しかし、事故はデモ飛行の合間の廃船調査中に起きた。飛行計画に無理はなかったのか。デモ飛行と事故との関係も、調査を尽くしたうえで結論づけることだ。

The transport safety board needs to look into the case thoroughly to determine the real reason behind the cover-up and the cause of the accident.
　運輸安全委は、隠蔽の理由や事故の真相を徹底的に解明する必要がある。

In investigating the 2005 JR Fukuchiyama Line derailment accident, a member of the then Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission, a predecessor of the board, leaked information related to its investigation to West Japan Railway Co. before the commission compiled a report on the accident--a monstrous mistake that investigative authorities should have prevented.
ＪＲ西日本の脱線事故の調査では、調査情報をＪＲ西に事前に漏らすという、調査機関にあるまじき失態があった。

The transport safety board will lose public trust if it treats the coast guard with kid gloves during its investigation simply because the board and the JCG are organizations under the same ministry.
　海保と同じ国交省内の組織だからといって、少しでも手加減するようでは信頼は地に落ちる。

Merely keeping an eye on the piloting of aircraft is not enough to prevent such an accident from recurring. The board must investigate the JCG and the headquarters from all possible angles, including flight safety.
　再発防止のためには乗務員の操縦にだけ目を向けず、飛行の安全体制など、海保や６管に対する調査も厳正に行うべきである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 22, 2010)
（2010年8月22日01時20分 読売新聞）