Originally Posted by
Jet_Fan
Everyone knows this, so why it gets repeated so often is beyond me.
The question is, should he get back in the air given the complete horlicks he made of his last fight?
I would hope they do. However you only have to look a threads like this to see how it suits some peoples' agenda to heap all the blame on one individual rather than look at the whole picture.
"A chain is a strong as its weakest link" is a popular saying and of course it is true. However it may well not be the the whole truth. If the weakest link snaps the chain fails, maybe with disastrous consequences, but that does not mean the rest of the chain was fit for purpose. In my opinion there were a whole raft of issues that could all have potentially lead to a catastrophe and many of them have not been properly addressed as there was a convenient scapegoat.
Do you remember the far less debated crash of a Gnat at a show not that long before Shoreham? Because "only" the pilot was killed and the plane crashed in deserted woodland there was relatively little publicity. It should have raised all kinds of questions about the wisdom of operating these kinds of aircraft in civilian hands and them being flown quite legally by pilots, however experienced in the past, with very little (or virtually zero) currency on type.
20:20 hindsight now requires the B road that passes the end of Old Warden's runway to be closed on 10 days a year for their airshows, much to the annoyance of the local residents. Old Warden shows are 99.9% prop driven aircraft flown conservatively by some of the most experienced pilots in the country. They will have vastly more currency on the type of aircraft they are displaying than could ever be the case with a historic fast jet.
However, it was thought fit to run the show at Shoreham with multiple fast jets passing directly over a busy A road that was kept open. No effective steps were taken to prevent "freeloaders" congregating by the road, several of whom were killed.
Duxford however, despite having had fatal accidents immediately either side of the M11 motorway in the past, continues to have multiple large shows each year with the motorway remaining open. It has however taken elaborate steps to stop a relatively few photographers and enthusiasts congregating in the so called "naughty fields" to the south of the runway!
People really need to look at the whole picture!