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Pilot for Dutch low cost carrier arrested for his role in Argentine "death flights"
We've heard of pilots being removed from their plane because they were drunk, but today's news is slightly more disturbing. Pilot Juan Alberto Poch was about to fly back to Amsterdam when Spanish police removed him from his Transavia plane because of his involvement in the Argentine "dirty war" between 1976 and 1983.
An Argentine court had issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Poch, and he'll be deported so he can answer the allegations brought against him.
These allegations are quite horrible. As part of the dirty war, Mr. Poch flew "death flights". These flights were performed under the disguise of "prisoner transports", but in reality, the passengers were drugged, and dropped out of the plane plummeting to their death in the ocean. In total, up to 30,000 people disappeared, and many of them may have been killed when pushed out of one of these flights.
The airline had been informed of the arrest, and had prepared a backup pilot to minimize the inconvenience to its passengers. The pilot had been working for Transavia since 1988 and never raised any suspicions.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
bill Sep 24th 2009 8:57AM
At least they were drugged......so much for using taxpayer money to keep these bastards up for years and years and years. Sounds like an award-winning solution to me.
JoyRptr Sep 24th 2009 9:50AM
Should be the way we handle pervs who commit crimes against children in the USA. (Only no drugs! LOL)
hcb Sep 24th 2009 10:08AM
The prisoners referred to in this article were political prisoners that were opposed to the military junta that was governing Argentina at that time. They are called "the Disappeared" because the majority of them were taken from their homes and held in undisclosed locations, tortured, and murdered in ways that would ensure the bodies would not be found or identified. Many families still do not know what happened to their loved ones and can only surmise that they were victims of the "Dirty War." Many of these people were students and union members. Not all the victims were Argentine citizens -- as in the case of two Catholic nuns who were French citizens.
Don Sep 26th 2009 2:31AM
You are a Class A moron
Susan Sep 24th 2009 9:01AM
Shark food!! Pretty digusting though.
Barry Fleckmann Sep 24th 2009 9:18AM
It's too bad that Dick Cheney DIDN'T hear about these "Death Flights" BEFORE he and "Dubya'" left office. It would've been a fitting end to the "Gitmo detainees" BEFORE Obama took office! Can you imagine the conversation between "Dubya'" and Obama on the limo drive over to the Capitol Building for Obama's "coronation," last January? "Hey, George, WHAT should I do with the Gitmo detainees," asks Obama? "Nothing, it's ALREADY taken care of" replies "Dubya'."
SpiceMonkey Sep 24th 2009 4:48PM
Menda, are you actually so dense that you think that's a liberal comment?
amp41569 Sep 24th 2009 9:25AM
Gives me the heebie geebies!
crksr Sep 24th 2009 9:27AM
Some twenty six years have passed ever since this supposedly happened. What took them so long to bring the culprit to justice? Is he guilty or, is somebody trying to make a name for himself? It seems to me that this pilot is going to get off the hook easily. It is difficult to fly a plane while you are pushing somebody off of it.
hcb Sep 24th 2009 9:45AM
The Argentinian government did prosecute some of these crimes against humanity during the mid 1980's when democracy returned to the country; though soon after their congress passed a number of amnesty laws protecting the persons who had been involved in these actions from prosecution and pardoning those who had already been convicted. in 2005 these amnesty laws were overturned -- thus allowing these crimes to be prosecuted again. (Those pardoned cannot be tried again for the same crimes.)
john Sep 24th 2009 10:04AM
have you never heard of "auto-pilot" ......!!!!
Fable Sep 25th 2009 8:14PM
he was not accused of pushing the people out of the plane, he is accused of flying the plane. even though he may not have physically pushed them out, he is as guilty as those directly involved based solely on him being present at the time these crimes occurred
cybersense Sep 24th 2009 9:38AM
This is not about what is going on here in politics. So let us keep the subject of this story at focus. Keep the political antics for political stories.
What happened to these people is horrible.
Grand National Sep 24th 2009 2:13PM
I agree...pretty horrible thing to do, even to a criminal. It's the state of the world today as back then. Our world is a VERY, VERY bad place to be in sometimes. Nothing suprises me anymore. Very sick world. Someday, all the wrong doers will REALLY get what's coming to them. That I can promise.
Vixen Sep 24th 2009 9:41AM
However eager some may be to keep costs of criminal punishment down, this is certainly NOT what these people deserved. This is murder, taking the law into their own hands, something one would expect from a regime like that of Pol Pot, Hussein, Stalin, even Hitler.The journalist's style of reporting this atrocity is especially disturbing because it didn't do much more than blast a headline. This needed a little more investigation before breaking. "30,000 disappeared and 'many' of them may have been killed when pushed out"???? What kind of statement is that? Were they supposed to survive the drop??? Geesh. I hope all involved are brought to justice.
James Brown Feelar Sep 24th 2009 9:49AM
Still beats a flight on Continental or Continental Express, any day.
Rob Sep 24th 2009 10:02AM
sounds great? Good idea? till it happens to you
parrotthebeak Sep 24th 2009 10:05AM
PROBABLY HE WORKED FOR BUSH SR.
parrotthebeak Sep 24th 2009 11:34AM
PROBABLY BUSH SR. HIRED HIM FOR ALL THE DIRTY CIA JOBS...JUST LIKE OSAMA BIN LADEN..!
bubba Sep 24th 2009 2:24PM
" In total, up to 30,000 people disappeared, and many of them may have been killed when pushed out of one of these flights. " what? MAY have been killed? who survived a drop in the ocean?