There was another crash a while back where the raw facts that came out the first day indicated also in a clear and unambiguous manner that the principle cause was pilot error, blatant lack of basic flying skills. I said as much on a message board also then that the cause was clear. At that time I was working at a company that this same individual had worked for and many people were personally acquainted with him. And I was condemned then also with much vitriolic rhetoric and comments as to what a Fine Human being and a great pilot he was etc. etc. etc. Well, if he was such a great pilot than why is he dead? Was my comeback. And to die because he was stupid, very sad. Same comments then also as to how only the great and wise NTSB could be the only ones to form a meaningful opinion as to the cause and who was I, a mere mortal, to actually make use of my aviation knowledge and form an independent opinion. Yeah, right, whatever....
Eventually after a lengthy period of deliberation during which ALPA and other interested parties tried to muddy the blatant pilot incompetence with such nonsense as “core-lock” etc they issued their report which was far more damning than anything I had ever put out and said in so many words and then some that the conclusions I and others had come to within the first day was correct and in fact the reality was even worse as to their lack of basic pilot skills and judgment.
The simple fact is that these days when the technology of large transport category aircraft design and operation is fairly mature (unlike many who post on this forum) Many accidents are in fact pilot error and intelligent, knowledgeable people in the field can often times speculate and come to fairly accurate opinions fairly quickly. It is well and proper that we do this. We should all examine in an unemotional manner the mistakes of others so as to learn from them and make different mistakes next time. For every Airbus that goes into the Hudson or DC10 into Sioux City's there are a hundred or more FedEx, Pinnacle, ComAir, Canary Island etc etc etc ad nauseum. We should all recognize, acknowledge, and learn from the mistakes of others so as not to repeat them.
My original point had less to do with the facts of this specific case than with the fact that honest, unemotional speculation and discussion of such things was simply not possible on the Internet anymore but this was not always the case. It doesn't have to be this way. It is cowardly, rhetorically speaking, to ignore a man's words and attack his character because you don't like his words all the while hiding behind some cute, phoney pseudonymous “screen name”. Similarly cowardly is admins who delete posts and censor views they don't like or agree with.
I return you now to your cesspool of filth and immaturity. Flame Away.
tj
