I have never said that I didn't think foam would be a good idea, but we are being naive if we think that we will get all the kit we want on our aircraft to prevent a similar loss. This is purely down to the fact that the Government does place a cost on human lives and unfortunately whatever Nige, Chappie and others do, the panacea will never be reached. Flog your guts out if you want, but you will exhaust yourselves trying. I'm not saying that you shouldn't keep pressurising HMG, but you must understand that as I have already said, the NHS and schools are far more important to the Government than any number of body bags - fact.
ExALM - OK, I'll say it loud and clear. I think the crew were being utterly complacent in flying at low-level that awful day. The BOI may not have commented, but would you, with all of your 'special' experience have flown the same profile in that theatre with the greatest threats being AAA and RPG?