劫持航空器罪若干疑难问题研究

在我国刑法中,劫持航空器罪的行为对象主要是民用航空器,但也不排除特定条件下的国家航空器。本罪中的"暴力"是专指对驾驶、操作人员实施袭击或其他身体强制。"胁迫",要求不但能引起对方恐惧,还必须达到足以压制对方反抗程度。"其他行为"是指违背航空器合法控制人的意志且属于暴力、胁迫之外的,使航空器合法控制人不知反抗的行为。行为人只有着手实施了"劫持"行为并实际控制了该航空器的程度,才是犯罪既遂。     

Analysis of pilot-related equipment and archaeological strategy in the recovery of aircrew losses from the Vietnam War

Determining the location and distribution of cockpit and aircrew-related equipment within the wider debris field of a military aircraft crash site is an essential first step in planning and executing the recovery of missing aircrew members presumed still to be on the site. Understanding the spatial relationship of these materials improves the likelihood of finding and recovering the remains of the aircrew during the excavation of an aircraft crash site. Since the greater portion of these unaccounted for crewmembers were involved in aircraft with single-seat cockpits or cockpits with two or three seats in tandem, pre-analysis of the debris pattern may be more-or-less straightforward. Larger, multiple-personnel aircraft, on the other hand, create a potentially more complex analytical situation given the aircrew's greater freedom of movement within the aircraft. Nevertheless, the same fundamental principles apply and, indeed, have been successfully so for some time in the civilian arena. But older aircraft crash sites, i.e., those dating to World War II, Korea, or the Vietnam conflict, have been and still are undergoing taphonomic processes that progressively alter these relationships. The following will illustrate that exchange of information between the anthropologist/archaeologist and the life-support analyst is required to maximize the effectiveness of field recovery and demonstrates the relationship between the recovery of life-support equipment and human remains and the effect that aircraft type has on this relationship.     

国家航空器法律问题研究

《国际民用航空公约》将航空器分为国家航空器及民用航空器两大类 ,但对于国家航空器的法律特征及范围问题 ,国际航空法学界却一直存有争议。本文在对现有的国家航空器分类方法进行比较分析后 ,指出了区分民用航空器、国家航空器的不科学性 ,并进而提出了以“民用航空活动”、“国家航空活动”来取代国家航空器及民用航空器分类的构想。     

The sensitivity and specificity of control surface injuries in aircraft accident fatalities

Among the important determinations that aircraft crash investigators try to make is which occupant of an aircraft was attempting to control the aircraft at the time of the crash. The presence or absence of certain injuries of the extremities is used to help make this determination. These "control surface injuries" reportedly occur when crash forces are applied to a pilot's hands and feet through the aircraft's controls. We sought to clarify the significance of these injuries and the frequency with which their presence indicates that the decedent was the person that might have been trying to control the aircraft, questions that are frequently asked of the examining pathologist. We studied sequential fatalities of airplane and helicopter crashes in which autopsies were performed by the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, excluding those that were known to have been incapacitated before the crash and those that were known to have attempted to escape from the aircraft, collecting 100 "qualified" crash decedents. The incidence of control surface injuries was determined for both pilots and passengers. The sensitivity and specificity of control surface injuries were calculated by classifying the decedents into a 4-cell diagnostic matrix. The positive and negative predictive values for control surface injuries were also calculated. Injuries that met the published definitions of control surface injuries had high incidences in passengers, as well as pilots, giving the term control surface injury a diagnostically unacceptable sensitivity and specificity for indicating "a pilot attempting to control an aircraft." We offer caveats and refinements to the definition of these injuries that help to increase the sensitivity and specificity of this term.     

"I am flying to the stars"--suicide by aircraft in Germany

In 2006, 67 persons were killed in aircraft accidents in Germany and involving German aircrafts abroad. In spite of extensive investigation of each aircraft accident, there are no reliable data as to the number of suicides by aircraft. We report on a 50-year-old man who committed suicide by willfully crashing his Beech "Sierra" aircraft minutes after take off from an airport close to the town of Rendsburg, Germany. Before killing himself, the intoxicated pilot had sent an SMS announcing his suicide plans to a friend. The findings of the medico-legal investigation and the results of a review of aircraft accident reports by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU) regarding suicidal plane crashes are presented.     

Homicide and suicide by aircraft

A report of simultaneous homicide and suicide by aircraft is presented. This confirms the view of Phillips (Science, 201 (1978) 748–750), that despite the previous absence of similar reports in the history of civil aviation, such incidents may occur, and that therefore murder and suicide should be considered as a possible cause of aircraft accidents.     

Investigative and autopsy findings in sport aircraft-related deaths in southwest Florida

Aircraft designated for sport or recreational use only, including ultralights, experimental aircraft and light-sport aircraft, have become increasingly popular. Because of their relative safety and the rarity of fatalities resulting from crashes of these aircraft, the forensic literature contains little information concerning the pathologic findings in such deaths. We report 9 deaths resulting from 6 sport aircraft crashes in southwest Florida, 6 pilots and 3 passengers. The vehicles involved 3 experimental aircraft, 1 ultralight and 2 "ultralight-like" aircraft. The patterns of injuries included trauma predominantly to the chest (3 cases), abdomen (1) or head (1), as well as multiple blunt force injuries involving the chest and abdomen (1) or the head and torso (3). Extremity fractures were found in only 2 cases, whereas injuries to the symphysis pubis were found in six. No "control-type" injuries were identified. These cases illustrate the varied pathologies associated with deaths due to crashes of sport aircraft and reveal the lack of uniformity associated with the investigations of such deaths.     

A suicide decision as a motive for murder--an airplane as the murder weapon

It is supposed that some fatal aviation accidents of "cause unknown" especially of light and private airplanes are possibly intended by a suicidal act. However it is difficult to prove this suggestion. A case of a light aircraft accident is reported in which the medicolegal autopsy and the police investigation revealed, unexpected, a simultaneous homicide and suicide caused by a stabbing attack on the pilot. This paper stresses the importance of autopsies of the victims in aircraft accident investigation and discuss the medicolegal and psychopathological aspects of the case.     

A fatal wound from an unusual military projectile: potential dangers of live military ordnance to the autopsy pathologist

During ground maintenance on an F-14 aircraft, a worker was removing the Mark 124 cartridge activated devices (CADS) from the aircraft when a second worker entered the cockpit of the aircraft and energized the electrical system, causing the four CADS to detonate. One of the four CADS became an airborne projectile. It struck the first worker in front of the right arm, passed through his chest, and became embedded in his thoracic spine. An immediate concern at autopsy was whether or not the device retained any explosive potential. Recommendations for autopsy procedures in cases involving military ordnance are discussed.     

"A brilliant ball of fire." The sabotage of United Airlines Flight 629

Among the known causes of aircraft disasters, sabotage is perhaps the most terrifying and difficult to comprehend. Bombs have been exploded in at least 34 commercial aircraft, with the resultant loss of more than 300 lives. Motives for these acts include profit, the deaths of certain persons, and politics. On November 1, 1955, United Airlines Flight 629, bound to Denver-Portland, exploded and burned in flight near Longmont, Colorado, a few minutes after takeoff, with the loss of all 44 on board. Investigation revealed that the plane had been destroyed by the explosion of a bomb that had been placed in the rear luggage hold in Denver. Twelve days after the disaster, John Gilbert Graham, the son of one of the female passengers, was arrested and charged with murder. He reportedly admitted placing a time bomb on board the aircraft, apparently in order to collect $37,500.00 in life insurance that he had taken on his mother's life. Though he soon recanted, he was convicted of murder and was executed. The potential for additional such crimes remains.     

Use of a pig model to demonstrate vulnerability of major neck vessels to inflicted trauma from common household items

Commonly available items including a ball point pen, a plastic knife, a broken wine bottle, and a broken wine glass were used to inflict stab and incised wounds to the necks of 3 previously euthanized Large White pigs. With relative ease, these items could be inserted into the necks of the pigs next to the jugular veins and carotid arteries. Despite precautions against the carrying of metal objects such as knives and nail files on board domestic and international flights, objects are still available within aircraft cabins that could be used to inflict serious and potentially life-threatening injuries. If airport and aircraft security measures are to be consistently applied, then consideration should be given to removing items such as glass bottles and glass drinking vessels. However, given the results of a relatively uncomplicated modification of a plastic knife, it may not be possible to remove all dangerous objects from aircraft. Security systems may therefore need to focus on measures such as increased surveillance of passenger behavior, rather than on attempting to eliminate every object that may serve as a potential weapon.     

航空器对地(水)面第三人侵权责任归责原则论

航空器对地(水)面第三人损害的范围除了飞行中的航空器或从飞行中的航空器坠落下的人或物所造成的损害外,还应包括航空器噪音污染引起的损害。该种损害责任的性质属于侵权责任而非契约责任。航空器对地(水)面第三人损害的责任归责选择严格责任原则的理由在于:对人性的尊重和保护;航空损害风险"互惠性"的欠缺;责任保险和责任担保的出现;风险利益标准和正义的考量。     

论国际航空侵权行为的法律适用

航空运输已成为国际间重要的交通运输方式,不可避免的空难和国际航空侵权行为不断发生,适用何国法律解决国际航空侵权纠纷就成为迫切需要研究的问题。本文从航空器内部侵权行为、航空器碰撞、航空器事故、航空器失事对地(水)面第三人造成的损害等四个方面对国际航空侵权行为的法律适用进行研究,并对我国的相关立法提出建议。     

Watch for those fragments of evidence: the use of an automatic timepiece to help correlate a helicopter crash site from the Vietnam War

This case study illustrates the use of the date function on an automatic wristwatch to help identify a Vietnam War helicopter crash site. The location of a crash incident can sometimes be uncertain because of inadequate or inaccurate wartime records and the passage of time. Artifacts recovered from a prospective crash scene are regularly used to correlate the loss incident. In this case study, a recovered automatic watch displayed a date 2 days later than the reported loss incident. Although the date conflicts with the aircraft crash incident report, it is observed that a fully wound automatic watch continues to work for c. 2 days after movement of the watch ceases. Thus, the watch's date in fact correlates with the aircraft crash incident report. It is noted that automatic watches may also be used to date scenes of crime.     

Ultralight aircraft fatalities. Report of five cases

A study of ultralight aircraft fatalities was performed based on the cases files of the Office of the Medical Examiner of Metropolitan Dade County in Miami, Florida. A total of five cases were collected during the years 1981-1985. These are presented in some detail. A discussion ensues concerning the safety of ultralight aircraft and whether people should be allowed to fly them.     

The Lockerbie disaster and other aircraft breakups in midair

This is a review of the experiences and activities of various specialty groups that constituted the organization developed to investigate the Lockerbie air disaster. Circumstances surrounding other aircraft midair breakup crashes are also discussed.     

Understanding the drone epidemic

Drones are aircraft that have no onboard, human pilot. Through the twentieth century, piloted aircraft made far greater progress than drones. During the twenty-first century, on the other hand, changes in both drone technologies and drone economics have been much more rapid. Particularly in the case of small, inexpensive devices, the question arises as to whether existing regulatory frameworks can cope. To answer that question, it is necessary to document the nature and characteristics of drones, the dimensions across which they vary, the purposes to which they are put, and the impacts that they appear likely to have. The analysis concludes that careful consideration is needed of the adequacy of controls over the impacts of drones on two important values – public safety, and behavioural privacy.     

Distribution and optical purity of methamphetamine found in toxic concentration in a civil aviation accident pilot fatality

Toxicological evaluation of postmortem samples collected from a pilot involved in a unique fatal civil aircraft accident is described in this paper. A one-occupant airplane was substantially damaged upon colliding with terrain in poor visibility. Remains of the pilot were found outside the aircraft. Pathological examination revealed multiple blunt force injuries and vascular congestion. The fluorescence polarization immunoassay disclosed 8.0 microg/mL amphetamines in urine. Gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analyses determined the presence of methamphetamine (1.13 microg/mL in blood and 59.2 microg/mL in urine) and amphetamine (0.022 microg/mL in blood and 1.50 microg/mL in urine). Methamphetamine was distributed throughout the body, including the brain. The amount of methamphetamine in gastric contents was 575-fold higher than that of amphetamine. The (+)- and (-)-forms of methamphetamine were present in equal proportions in gastric contents. The methamphetamine concentration found in blood was in the range sufficient to produce toxic effects, causing performance impairment.     

Fatal fall of an aircraft stowaway: a demonstration of the importance of death scene investigation

Scene investigation is of paramount importance in forensic pathology. Many medical and coroner systems wisely and routinely evaluate the scene in homicides but do not routinely investigate traffic fatality scenes. This case originally was thought to be a pedestrian-automobile event, but, due to proper and prompt scene investigation, it was determined that the decedent was actually a wheel-well stowaway who fell from a commercial aircraft.