cws
You might see fit to question the proficency of the crew involved because of their involvement with this operator but I can assure you that these people were highly skilled crew who knew the MD11 very well, as I knew them. I flew with them all and knew them well and it saddens me that people like you should attempt to question their ability at a time like this.
As for the rest of you, I question your abilities to think straight in times like this. If you knew anything of the cargo side of the industry you would not even question the reason for a tech stop in one of the 'stans en-route to Europe from the far east. If any of you had carried cargo from the far east you would also appreciate that at this time of year, everything comes in almost standard cardboard boxes that are so well built on pallets they almost make the pallet locks redundant, so 'cargo shifting' is not and never will be an issue. By all means question the operator and his past history and maybe the underhand methods he employs, but stay away from the crew, they were good friends and exceptional pilots who I had the pleasure to know and fly with and all had the ability to deal with 'situations' in a calm and proffesional manner. Our thoughts should be with their families at this time and we should be thankfull that the FAA and NTSB have become involved and that at the very least there will be answers to a few questions that otherwise would be kept from us.