694c and Berenger Saunier:
This forum is often useful and interesting for exchanging ideas and learning from one another. You two, however, come across as offensive bigots.
For the rest of you:
Let me state a few things. The controllers at Zuerich (Swiss, Danish and the other nationalities) are very, very good at what they do. The airspace is busy and complex and there are many problems for which, though not of their making, the controllers have to compensate.
There have been several accidents over the years and the reasons for these are many and varied. It is accepted best practice in modern aviation to try to understand all the parts of a chain that allowed an incident to occur. Only then, through knowledge, education and reviewing working practices can we move on towards the goal of improving safety. Apportioning blame, whether fairly or not, is not helpful in this regard. I think that there are some issues that maybe Skyguide management needs to review (introduction of reporting schemes?, establishing an independent safety regulator?) and the ridiculous situation that has been allowed to develop over noise regulations needs to be sensibly addressed (both the Swiss and German authorities are at fault here and it is a subject worthy of it’s own forum). But please do not attack or criticise any of the controllers. Believe me when I say that they would more than stand up with the very best in the world.
One issue that really angers me here is the way identifying information was released about PN. The initial press releases by Skyguide were in my opinion clumsy (citicising the Russian pilot’s english et cetera). Skyguide had a responsibility to PN as an employee that it failed in. The day after the controller who was on duty at the time of the Crossair crash in 2001 was interviewed by the Air Accident Investigators, details that should have been confidential were in the Swiss newspapers. Why did this happen? The controller concerned didn’t talk to the press, so who did? Skyguide management? The Air Accident Investigators?
Controllers are sometimes under a lot of pressure. Berenger’s comments about air conditioned comfort are outrageous! All controllers are professionals. Every day at work is a matter of pride and conscience. Expedition and safety are not easily compatible but we do try our best ALWAYS, although sometimes under not the best of circumstances eg equipment failings, poor management practices.
The standard of journalism here in the UK (I can only assume it is the same in the rest of the world) relating to this murder has been very sloppy indeed. I refer to statements already made on PPRUNE in this regard. Every article that I have read or listened to has been full of factual errors and incorrect statements. If we as controllers and pilots did our job so badly there would be a great number of accidents. Air travel is as safe as it is through our professionalism.
Now, I am off to work.