By trying to cover so many aspects of the background to the entire Concorde project, as well as focusing on the aftermath effects upon those who either lost members of their families or were directly affected by the accident, I feel that the programme lacked sufficient time to give adequate treatment to the accident itself. There was a good deal of speculation about the rights and wrongs of BA continuing commercial Concorde operation after the accident, but apart from John Hutchinson's clear statements about the potential effect of the missing undercarriage spacer, very little mention was given to the overweight take-off and the No 2 engine shutdown. No mention at all of the recent facts concerning the validity of the FO's licence, nor of the effect of this upon the aircraft's certification.
No - this was rather a lightweight effort by the BBC; John Hutchinson took great pains to avoid direct criticism of the crew and drew all his explanations from the facts presented in the interim reports whereas Christian Paris the Air France pilot saw fit only to accuse John of being 'in love' with the aircraft and contributed nothing but an air of condescension. Without wishing to appear Francophobic, I have to say that it was M Paris who was the emotional and vague commentator and Capt Hutchinson who was the clear analyst.
[ 06 September 2001: Message edited by: BEagle ]