Lone survivor of 2009 Yemenia Airways crash attends French court hearing

The lone survivor of a 2009 passenger plane crash that killed 152 people sat in the front row of a Paris courtroom at the opening of the trial of the Yemeni airline that operated the flight.

Bahia Bakari, who has called her survival “a miracle”, sat in silence as the victims’ names were read out at the start of the proceedings in a room heavy with emotion.

At only 12 years old, Ms Bakari clung to floating debris from the plane for 11 hours in the Indian Ocean before being rescued. Now 25, she recently told France 3 television she would attend the trial with both “apprehension” and “relief.”

The trial is needed to “finally know the truth,” said Ms Bakari, who lost her mother in the crash. The French court opened the hearings on Monday.

Yemenia Airways, whose representatives will not be in the dock due to the country's still-raging civil war, faces a maximum fine of €225,000 ($237,772) for involuntary homicide and injuries in a trial expected to last four weeks.

On June 29, 2009, the airline's flight 626 was approaching Moroni, the capital of the Comoros Islands, which lie between Mozambique and Madagascar, after departing from the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

France's overseas territory of Mayotte is also part of the Comoros archipelago. Among the 142 passengers and 11 crew were 66 French citizens.

Shortly before 11pm, the Airbus A310 plunged into the Indian Ocean with its engines running at full throttle, killing everyone on board except Ms Bakari.

In interviews and a book of her own, Ms Bakari remembered “turbulence” during the approach, before feeling what seemed to be an electric shock and then blacking out — only to find herself in the sea.

Ms Bakari was joined in court by about 100 family members and friends of the crash victims.

She is expected to testify on May 23 but has refused to speak to the press.

A soldier looks at flight 626's wreckage, which was recovered from the Indian Ocean, at a disused hangar in Moroni, the Comoros Islands, in September 2009. AFP

Although the black boxes were found weeks after the crash, France accused the Comoros government of dragging its feet in the investigation, while victims' families accused Yemen of lobbying to hinder the trial of the national airline.

“Thirteen years is a very long time. It is psychologically and morally exhausting, even physically,” said Said Assoumani, president of a victims' association.

“But after 13 years of waiting and impatience, the criminal trial has finally come.”

Investigators and experts found that there was nothing wrong with the aircraft, blaming instead “inappropriate actions by the crew during the approach to Moroni airport, leading to them losing control”.

However, Yemenia Airways has been attacked by prosecutors for pilot training “riddled with gaps” and continuing to fly to Moroni at night despite its non-functioning landing lights.

“Yemenia remains deeply marked by this catastrophe … nevertheless it maintains its innocence,” said Leon-Lef Forster, the company's lawyer.

Meanwhile, Sebastien Busy, a lawyer for another victims' association, said the absence of any company representatives at the trial “leaves the families and the survivor with a bitter taste”.

“It is very regrettable. If they don't show up, it is because they have something to hide,” said Ms Bakari's father, Jeff, who lost his wife in the crash.

About 560 people have joined the suit as plaintiffs, many of them from the region around Marseille in southern France, home to many of the victims.

A video feed to the southern port city has been set up for their benefit, allowing them to follow part of the proceedings.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”