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Old 16th Feb 2000, 00:34
  #27 (permalink)  
Tipstrike
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Unhappy

There are some accidents that just run and run, look at the assassination of JFK, there were millions watching and they still can't decide who shot who.

The Chinook accident on the MoK had very few people watching, and there wasn't much left unburnt after the impact to draw any substantial conclusions. In these circumstances one has to look at the probable cause, which is what I believe the BOI did. However when it comes to apportioning blame, then it should attach itself (formally) to everyone who formed part of the links in the chain of events. It is far too simplistic (and often too easy) to just blame the pilots.

The FADEC COULD have been a contributory cause, as COULD a thousand other things such as autopilot runaways, jammed controls, in fact anything that could have put the aircraft where it was. We just don't (and won't)know. Sad to say but that part of the coast over the years is littered with aircraft that unexpectedly hit cumulogranite. They weren't the first and certainly won't be the last.

It would appear to me that there are an increasing number of "plastic aircraft" these days that crash and leave very little behind to enable the investigators to determine the cause - Mathew Harding and Kent Air Ambulance Squirrel crashes to name but two. The best epitaph that all these guys could have is for flight data recorders or at the very least CVR's to be fitted to all military and commercial helicopters. If anything drastic happens to me, I for one would like my family, my friends and the wider aviation community to know WHY, even if it means letting the world know I ****** up!

From experience with bereaved relatives, it's the "not knowing" that hurts the most.