First, may I add my thanks and congratulations to Danny and his team. The painstaking analysis and explanation they have collectively provided above is helpful and most valuable. In particular Danny has shown us how a “steady pair of hands” keeps the real issues clearly in focus whilst avoiding needless risk.
In that regard, and speaking as somebody who believes he has recently been in the company of a pilot who was directly involved in these events, may I particularly commend the following observation by Danny (which I believe goes to the core of the consistent message coming from
pprune and other sources):
Should scapegoats be found individually and action taken against them in a punitive manner (education and retraining should not be punitive), then we would be outraged here at PPRuNe as that would not be tackling the real problems underlying why so many pilots breached the rules on the 24th April. We wait to see the results of the inquiry and will compare our notes at the time whilst watching the reactions from the companies involved.
Of course these eminently sensible and constructive words apply as much to Aviation Authorities as they do to airlines.
If anyone has any doubts as to the litigious and legally threatening nature of Ryanair when it believes it important to silence adverse comment, they may care to look at the following link:
http://www.ryanair.org.uk/
If you feel that Ryanair would not become involved in litigation unless the facts were on their side, you might care to search for various reports, of which the following is but one, on the Ryanair "one millionth passenger" case:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2002/0619/ryanair.html
The following words of the judge, taken from the judgment in that case, relate to two findings of fact:
I found the plaintiff a more persuasive witness than Mr. O’Leary and I therefore find as a fact that the version of events given by the plaintiff is correct. … I reject Mr. O’Leary’s assertion that he was not hostile or aggressive or bullying toward the plaintiff. I find that he was.