Jackonicko
Having only very limited aviation experience I am hesitant to raise this question again in an aviation professionals' forum, but you've touched upon a subject that I am curious to explore: ie how risk assessments are made on the flight deck.
When I asked a question about this following last year's SQ009 accident it appeared that there is no formal risk assessment process for weighing up the combined effect of the myriad factors that could effect the safety of a flight, but that a go / no-go decision relied mostly on the Captain's (and sometimes FO's) instincts.
Formal risk assessment is a practice that seems to me could benefit the whole aviation industry, but from what I was told, it doesn't appear to take place. In an industry that strives to project itself as safety-conscious, and with the enormous financial implications that accrue from a serious accident, I find it somewhat incredible that such systems are not in place.
Has anyone else considered this aspect? It seems to me that if such a process had been applied, the three or four factors regarding weight, windspeed, maintenance of the runway etc., may well have resulted in a risk index that would have said to all involved 'this flight should not go ahead until 'x' has happened'.