Northwing - Well said Sir
Hmmm, after the jackals of the legal profession and media have finished with this carcass, it would be nice to think that we, as an industry actually learn something from it.
I have a problem with 'fitting tributes to . . .' because I think it's a sentiment full of excrement. It suits as as humans to fudge our feelings to make ourselves feel better, it has little to do with the personalities concerned.
What I DO believe is that certain incidents (not only in our industry) act as turnkeys to improving safety - Herald of Free Enterprise, the ferry for example.
That said, we've not learned much about furnishings aboard since the Manchester 737 have we? How long ago was that?
We still carry bottles and bottles of Molotov Cocktails (Duty Free to the uninitiated) too, instead of ground based DF lounge on arrival like some airports now have.
I believe the crew probably did the best they could given the circumstances they were presented with. I also believe that they were in a worst case scenario and a no-win situation.
I have an enormous amount of sympathy for the nearest and dearest of all aboard, because you NEVER go off to work not expecting to come back (unless you're a terrorist I suppose), and the family accept that your job takes you away - there is no belief (only a silent fear) that it is permanent.
Can you imagine what is going through the minds of the Continental crew - the 'if onlys'?
I pray that this accident too, allows work to be done to make EVERYBODY safer.