As a microcosm of the shambles. I had the great privilege of being seconded to the RAF IAM during my University years. We still had a working mock up of the proposed F111K on site which was great fun to play in, On the flight safety side of TSR 2,incidentally, a committee of 22 (from all over the U.K. ) was convened to decide whether or not a Fire Axe should be included in the cockpit lay outs
After deep deliberation, . minutes taken and approved etc, etc, it was as decided in the end that "Yes, fire axes should be included in the crew locations.
The committee was then , in due course, fully reconvened in order to discuss the possible locations for these axes.........