Originally Posted by
DaveReidUK
My point exactly - how long had it taken the responders up to then to extricate the pilot from his harness and the cockpit ?
As I pointed out (admittedly, with hindsight) in the post immediately prior to yours, and echoed subsequently by other posters, that time might have been better spent dragging the 172 off the tracks - plenty of muscle available, no train collision, no dangerous flying debris, no traumatised train driver (who gets nary a mention in any of the media reports).
I would hazard a guess that in the heat of the moment, you make a call as to which is the quicker course of action, & go with that decision. Hesitating whilst deciding whether it's easier for a couple of people to extract the pilot, or whether you have sufficient time & people to move the aircraft, could be vital seconds lost. In saying that, perhaps that process was undertaken off camera, & the conclusion was the aircraft was wedged in some way & it would be quicker just to extract him. Hindsight also says they were right, I suggest.