Rainboe: The problem here, and I think this is why it is a waste of time, is there are either totally inexperienced people who know nothing of the business, or people with limited aviation experience or experience in different areas, suddenly feeling they can make public pronouncements of their verdicts of the actions of the crews who have been working in 4 engine long range operations almost all their working lives.
...
I have to say I have been trying my best to explain concisely the issues involved, and it has been an utter waste of time. People don't read or understand the explanations, nor try to. ... It's a total waste of time- most of the pages of this thread are duplicated by people who can't be bothered to read it, but want to stick their inexperienced oar in anyway! I give up!
There is always the saying about the number one rule of Internet bulletin boards: Never participate in the expectation that you will change anyone's mind.
But seriously, I don't think that the input from you or from the other 744 drivers on this thread has been a waste of time. For every difficult person who has piled in, refusing to listen to the people with experience and weighing in with their "highly relevant" experiences of flying twins or trijets, there may have been one or two or more of readers like me who:-
- Know virtually nothing ourselves about the business of flying jet airliners;
- Appreciate that not everyone on the Internet will be who they claim to be;
- Nevertheless see a consistent trend of posts from people who are (or at least claim to be) 744 drivers who have calmly explained why there was nothing wrong with the continuation of the flight, and why the low fuel state when the aircraft was nearer MAN can't be used to impugn the earlier decision;
- Have been persuaded that this is correct, even though we do not have the knowledge or experience to positively pitch in and say we agree.
To you and your 744 brethren, thank you for the time you have spent explaining the realities and trying to refute the hysteria.