The Air Safety Foundation is an initiative spearheaded by Ms Pilar Vera Palmés, President of the Association of Affected by Flight JK5022 (AVJK5022) and the Air Crash Victims’ Families’ Federation International (ACVFFI). After 15 years at the helm of both organisations, with no successor in sight to continue their important national and international work, Pilar was concerned that her departure would result in the loss of both the present and the past. This would leave future generations facing the same suffering without answers.
Setting up a foundation is no easy task, as there are very strict conditions that require more than just determination. As with almost all the ‘coincidences’ that have arisen over the years, the help offered by the Full Member — the AVJK5022 Treasurer who held the post for the longest period, and who was unanimously appointed an Honorary Member by the AVJK5022 Board and General Assembly — proved crucial. Pilar has no doubt that Ms Ángeles Piretti León, who lost her only daughter and grandson in the Flight JK5022 Tragedy, is the founder of FaSA20. Ángeles decided to dedicate a large part of the compensation she received for their deaths to preserving their legacy and continuing to promote initiatives in remembrance of the 154 people who died on Flight JK5022.
Pilar therefore embarked on another journey with the foundation, driven by the hope that the achievements of AVJK5022 and ACVFFI would not be lost. In fact, she will continue to work with greater resources, more people, and wider collaboration to ensure that its work continues to benefit society as a whole and air transport users and professionals in particular.
The image shows the blackened tail fin of the Sunbreeze MD-82 pointing skywards. Remarkably, it refused to fall after the crash of Flight JK5022. Those of us affected by the crash saw this as a sign to continue the work that brought together all the families united by the tragedy.
The AVJK5022 aimed to achieve truth, justice, redress and remembrance. This final aspiration will now be taken up by the Air Safety Foundation.
Over more than 15 years, we have faced countless events. We have learnt lessons from each and every one of them, and they have helped us persevere in our noble endeavour to continue our work in memory of the 154 victims of Flight JK5022.
This photograph shows one of the many rallies we organised to remind the public that what happened to us on 20 August 2008 could happen again and that we must all work together to prevent such tragedies.
To mark the tenth anniversary of the Flight JK5022 tragedy, a special concert was held for the first time on 18 August 2018 at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The concert was an attempt to remind the public that the AVJK5022 families had not given up and were continuing to fight for truth and justice.
The families who came together under the AVJK5022 banner met under tragic circumstances, and it is through them that we have come to know those who lost their lives on Flight JK5022. In their memory, Pilar pledged to ensure that they would not be forgotten once the media spotlight on the Flight JK5022 disaster in Spain had faded.
I am reassured to know that the Air Safety Foundation will take up the baton from the two associations and forge a new path, while maintaining the same drive and spirit that guided us at its foundation.
Without Ángeles Piretti León, it would certainly have taken much longer to establish this organisation; she and her generosity were instrumental in making FaSA20 a reality. Therefore, I am at peace with the responsibility of setting it up, because, given that it has its origins in the JK5022 flight tragedy, I can leave with a clear conscience, passing on the baton of a struggle spanning more than 15 years, knowing that the journey continues with a bright future ahead.
Pilar Vera Palmés – 4 July 2023
