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The airlines take and have taken "this stuff" very seriously. They have engineering departments that rival the manufactureres. They spend a fortune on preventative maintenance and the final proof is that their safety record in this area has been undeniably stellar.

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You're kidding, right? You really believe airlines spend a fortune on safety? They don't care any more about you than they do me or anyone else. $$$ are the bottom line, and if it'll save more money in the long run to install a safety device or measure than they'll implement it, if not, then they don't care. As Bill Waldock put it, "if it's cheaper to save you, they'll save you; if it's cheaper to kill you, they'll kill you."

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No I'm not kidding at all. My experience in the industry has strongly reinforced the fact that it is full of good people with a common bond, to deliver safe air transportation. I've seen none of what you are talking about here. I've known many in highly responsible positions and don't know one that has the capacity to think in those terms. And frankly, if it were the case the industry could not possibly have established the safety record it has.

But with that viewpoint I do understand how we see this incident so differently. Where I'm more likely to see honest mistakes, you will be more likely to see criminal negligence or SOP for the industry. It's probably a difference we can't resolve. But I respect your point of view while finding it completely foreign to my experience.

And I definitely respect the job you are now doing. I'm in awe of it.

Dave