To: panda-k-bear
You have a point but then nobody can predict what will happen in that respect and I'm sure nobody here wishes for that to happen just for one-upmanship, do they?
I spent 35 years analyzing aircraft systems for potential catastrophic failure points. In this position I worked to protect the safety of the occupants of the respective aircraft and as such the last thing I would like to see is the loss of an aircraft and its’ occupants. The point I was trying to make was that the loss of an aircraft can result in large payoffs by the airlines and the constructors and these payments are limited by international treaty. However if it can be proved that the airline was at fault say due to faulty maintenance the payments are unlimited and the same is true if it can be proved that the constructor was negligent in his design or other aspects of the aircraft construction these payments are also unlimited. This does not include pain and suffering.
I worked on one Airbus program where I identified two major design problems and I eventually brought them to the attention of the certification authorities (whistle blower) and nothing was done about these design problems. In this case if the airliner crashes due to either one of these problems Airbus would be in serious financial problems and the subcontractors would be bankrupted.
